Final Fantasy 6 Novel: The Ruined Balance
by MagitekElite
Summary: A novelization of Final Fantasy VI/III with characterization, descriptive environments, war, drama, romance, and plot etc etc. All characters. *pretty bad at summaries lol*
1. Prologue

Prologue

The orange light flicked across the walls of the caves. Luminance and peaceful, the fire breathed life and hope. The soft sound of water drummed beautifully. At the maw of the cave stood three men and one woman. The morning light broke through the tussles of vines that covered the mouth of the cave and kissed the four beings. They were worn-out; tired and hungry. Their eyes dull, their faces dirty and their clothes torn.

One of the men, short and very old, stepped forward out of the cave and looked upon the golden land set before him. In the background, stood the tallest mountains he's ever seen. To his left, a waterfall so beautiful it brought tears to his eyes and to his right, a lively forest. He held his hand up and a spiral of orange and pink energy swirled around the three.

The other man gazed back over his shoulders and saw the remaining members of his race. Over three hundred of them waited silently behind the top three, waiting and worrying. Their hope had been filled about the new lands that was promised to them after the War. Their hearts ached, hoping that maybe this was the end to their problems. The group all had different looks some with fur, some with scales and others with horns. But the eldest that sat in the front, was pale with light blue eyes. His hand clutched tightly around the shaft of his walking cane.

The eldest dropped his other hand to his side and whispered, his eyes beaming with pride and hope. "This," he waved to the land before them. "is our home." the crowd behind him cheered, the children laughed and hurried in front, running through the forests' thickets. The sun, so golden, breathed life down on their new land. The crowds moved out slowly and searched their new home.

As the years went by, the small settlement grew into a large population. They built their homes in the walls of the mountains, underground, out of mud and wood and even in the skies. They grew to be a peaceful and powerful world. They solved their problems by getting together and discussing it. They enjoyed brawling for sport and fun, but never raised a hand to hurt others. They were in the days of greatness until.....


	2. Iron Clade

Here is the slightly different version. All I took out before was the ending part. I didn't think this place would like it like my other readers. lol  
Chapter 1: _Iron Clade_

The dark, moist caves were unbelievable cold to the three trapped inside suits of iron. They were tired after their tedious face-to-face with a hideous beast in a shell known as "Whelk". The two men were sore and very cold, but once the battle was over, they felt relieved to have been given the Imperial Witch. Though they doubted her loyalty at first, they were now convinced that she would obey any order given.

The Whelk had died from a beam of fire shot from the iron beast the woman rode, the gunk of the Whelk had splattered all over the iron beasts, getting inside the vital parts. The men decided to exist the machines, since they were now nonfunctional. They stepped toward the ice shard. It was at least twenty-five feet tall and very wide. They couldn't see through the ice, but the shard was glowing very faintly. The two men got an odd feeling from the shard, as if it were alive. They did know there was something living inside the ice, but it the actual ice felt alive.

Her head started to pound and her stomach felt empty and tight. Where ever she was, it was quiet and warm. She could hear a flickering sound and the light roar of the fire. Slowly, her stomach started to settled down and her headache dulled. She opened her eyes and her vision started to clear. She was in a bed, which was tucked up against the wall underneath a window. She rolled her head over at the sound of a roaring fire, which faintly gave the room light. But only enough for people close to her to see. She saw a old man sleeping in a rocking chair besides her. She tried to sit up, but the bed creaked and woke the old man.

He yawned and leaned over, holding her down. "Please, lay back down, you were badly hurt back there." she frowned.

"Where am I?"

"Oh! You are at my house and I'm Arvis Burks. I am your humble host, my dear." she blinked, shaking her head. She laid back down, her head sinking back into the pillow.

"I...don't remember anything." she muttered, weakly and scared. He sighed, shaking his head as he shifted in his rocking chair.

"It..it is best if you rest."

"Terra." she whispered, making a unsure face.

"Terra…?"

"My name..." she answered, acting as if it were the first time she's heard her name...and it was. He chuckled, getting up; he gently tucked the blankets around her.

"I now have a name to call you. Don't worry about remembering, I'm sure after a bit more rest you'll remember everything, young lady."

She sat up on the bed, an expression of excitement on her face. She felt a rush of pain build up in her lower back and head and dropped back down to the pillows, her eyes heavy. "Will…will I remember it all?" The old man smiled, rocking back and forth in his chair. He had the features of a common old man; gray beard, gray hair and tender green eyes. He looked very weak, due to his age, but held a strong burning spirit in his heart. She, on the other hand, was very young with a beautiful shade of mint green hair and light purple eyes. Her ears were a little odd; slightly pointed. She was certainly tired, he could tell. Purple rings under her eyes and a beaten body was only the easiest thing to spot.

"Of course you will." he got up and patted her hand gently. "All in good time, dear. When it is right, you will remember."

"Thank you, Arvis."

"For?" he asked, turning away to attend to the dying fire. He threw three large logs in and smiled as the flames quickly covered the wood, the room got a bit brighter.

"For helping me."

He sighed and turned to face her. "You were hurt and cold; I wasn't going to leave you there. Plus, I don't really mind you being an Imperial Soldier-"

"Imperial?" she asked, a bit disoriented. She could recall a faint feeling like she knew what that meant. She could see the foggiest image of a very old man with a beard so long, it touched the floor. But before she could try and remember more, it disappeared and her head started to throb. She moaned, holding her head.

"Take it easy, Terra. You are still recovering from a major fight-" he paused. "Just rest, I'll come back later and check on you."

"Wait..." he stopped by the door. "What happened to me?" he bit his lower lip and told her he'd be right back. When he came back, he was holding a circle gold crown with a little chain hanging off of it. A red jewel hung from the end of it.

"When I found you, you were wearing this." he walked over and handed it to her. She stared at the strange object for a few seconds before asking what it was. "It's called `Slave Crown'. The Imperial Army used it on you so you would obey their every demand with any thought, emotion or say..." her eyes went wide as she dropped the crown on the bed.

"I...did something wrong, didn't I?"

He nodded slowly and painfully. "Yes...but it wasn't your fault! You were being forced to fight; it's not your fault. It is on the hands of the Imperial Army." Terra shook her head and covered her face with her hands.

"My head hurts..."

"Then you should rest. When you feel better, you can come out to the living room for something to eat." he turned and went for the door, when he heard her voice.

"Thank you, Arvis." he smiled and closed the door behind him.

After a few hours, she woke and weakly opened the door to the living room. Arvis was pouring a cup of tea, he didn't notice her until the door creaked. He turned and smiled. "Terra, are you feeling better?" she nodded and shifted on her feet. He chuckled and pointed to a free chair. "Sit there and drink this, I'll get the lunch."

_Lunch?_ She thought. She slept that long? When he came back in, he was carrying a try with a bowl of soup and crackers. "You must be cold and hungry, this soup will do wonders, I promise." he took her cup and sat it on the table and gave her the bowl. "Eat it before it gets cold, or it won't do much." she nodded and picked the spoon up and started to eat the tasty, salty soup.

"So," he said, watching her eat the soup. The firelight lightly danced across the room, gently glowing her figure. He noticed her odd red clothing - a short skirt with stockings and a top that cut off above her breasts - oddly glowed in the firelight. He had taken her cape and washed it, since it was so dirty. He didn't dare take the precious amethyst around her neck away. "Is it helping you?" she shook her head.

"No, not much. But I'm not so hungry anymore." she sounded chirpy. Arvis simply nodded his head and sat back in his chair.

"Well, at least you'll be full...what's wrong, Terra?" she was staring at the fire with a hard expression. "Terra?"

_Burning houses filled her vision, armored suited marched through the city, torching everything. A man stood behind the suits, besides another, bigger iron beast. Inside the beast, was her. She was riding the beast and burning the poor little town. The smell of smoke and the dead filled her senses._

She gasped, looking away from the fire. "Terra, what's wrong? Did you remember anything?"

She shook her head, weakly. "No...No I didn't." he got up and took her cape off a hook and wrapped it around her.

"You're probably just cold, why don't you lie down for a few?" before she could say yes, someone banged on the door. Arvis turned with a start.

"Open the door!" Arvis gasped and took the food from Terra and helped her up.

"I know you don't feel well, but you can't stay here any longer. You are in danger here, go through the back door and take the bridge to the caves. I'll send someone to get you, I promise." she started to panic when they banged on the door again.

"Open the door in the name of Narshe! Now or we'll bust through!"

"Alright, alright! I'm getting up, jeez! I'm not that young anymore." he turned to Terra. "Go! I'll distract them! Go!" he pushed her through the door to the bedroom. "Get out of here!" he hissed.

"I...I can't! I don't know what to do, please Arvis-" he marched her to the back door and pushed her through.

"You'll be fine! Now go!" he slammed the door on her and locked it. Terra shivered and held the cape closer to her aching body. Her head still throbbed, her back still ached, her arms were heavy and her legs felt dead, but she had to listen to Arvis, the kind old man willing to risk his life or freedom to help her. She turned and carefully walked over to the narrow bridge hanging twenty feet off the ground. The ledges where Arvis's house was built into were strong and wide, except where it went out toward the edges, where it got thinner and weaker. The bridge, which seemed to have been very old, looked like it hasn't been used in months, years even. The rope was tearing, the wood had holes in them and water damage and the giant spikes holding it to the ledges, was rusted and popping out. She took a deep breath and peaked out over the edges and down at the three men in Narshe uniform arguing with Arvis. They were holding spears and swords. They looked intense.

Terra put one foot out on the bridge and sighed when it carried her full weight. Slowly she itched across the bridge, hoping the men running beneath her wouldn't hear the creaking or see her. The bridge was hanging over the busiest of streets in Narshe, anyone could have seen her. About ten feet away from the end, she heard:

"There she is! Up there!" she gasped when a spear was thrown pass her head. She ducked and ran to the end, the bridge shaking and crumbling. The men scurried around, trying to find a new way to her. She jumped and landed face first into snow on the other side. The bridge collapsed and pinned four of the men to the ground. Jumping to her feet, despite the freezing air, she ran toward the cave's maw and ran down the metal flooring built into the ground until she couldn't hear the roars of commands from the Narshe men.

She paused to catch her breath. The cave, which served as a mine, was very wide at the start and she could see that it got thinner the deeper as it went. Old, abandoned railroads and pickets were scattered across the floor. Boulders halfway cut through littered the sides of the walls. Torches that haven't been used in ages adorned the walls as well as rats, squeaking hungrily at her. Their little red eyes watched her as she started down the mine's metal pathway, curious. Bats fluttered above her and drafts of wind carried through the man-made pipes leading outside.

The minutes dragged on as she navigated through the various tunnels and tiny mining maws. Her heart raced and made loud throbbing noises in her ears as she advanced into the dark caves. She knew it had to have been a while since she's entered the cave. Her eyes were getting heavy and her stomach started to rumble.

She fumbled around a corner, attempting to sit down, when she saw a group of men, staring off toward her in shock. They pointed at her and charged forward. "It's her! Get her!" she gasped and turned on her heel to run back the other way when she saw another group of men, pointing their spears out toward her as they advanced. She panicked and began to back up against the wall, her eyes searching frantically for a way out when the ground started to shake under her weight. The floor gave out and she shouted as she plummeted down the hole.

The debris and small rocks fell down and pinned her to the ground. She tried to get up, but her arms gave out and she fell back down. Slowly, her vision and senses left her as she fell unconscious.

_A tall, gawky man made his way toward a line of armored men. Three large machines behind him loomed over them, their drivers sat behind the plated glass. Two men readied their tek as the last machine stood still. Inside, Terra was looking out toward the gawky man. His strides grew shorter as he neared a smirk of achievement on his smug face as he paused before the troop. His mouth pulled open as he gave various commands. The glass plate shrouded her and kept her from hearing, but she could tell that he was screaming joyfully, for his hands gestured at nothing in particular, his eyes burned with intense rage and lust. _

_He rose a hand above his head brought it down quickly, laughing evilly as the men started march pass him together. Then, with a rumble, the tek she was perched in started to move forward. She looked down and saw her own fingers stuck inside a glowing blue orb. She suddenly released that this was her, this…this dream she was seeing was a memory she had forgotten. Arvis was right…she would remember. She looked up again, watching as the same man with a chalky white face and red lips pointed to the men before her, lined up to fight against her and her platoon. Terra screamed when she saw herself twist the orb around, summoning a command. Fire spewed from the mouth of the tek, engulfing nearly thirty men set before her, even some of her own men. She cried out, begging herself to stop, but she continued to burn the men before her, alive. _

No, _she cried_, what have I done? _A twisted bolt of white energy flew from the mouth of the iron beast and hit a group of men. The energy exploded and left a charred area. She reached out to stop herself from touching the glowing blue orb, but her hands went straight through the orb, she fell forward, but quickly gained her ground back. _No! Please stop, please! _She tried pushing her dreamself, but she failed yet again. Letting tears of frustration build up in her eyes; she finally gave up and covered her eyes._ What have I've done….?


	3. Locking onto the rescue!

Here is the updated version. I did cut some things out, but those were run-on sentences and redundant words. This is the chapter everyone else loved the most out of the current 4 chapters. I hope my readers will enjoy this one more. Thanks for reading!  
Chapter 2: _Locking onto the rescue!_

Arvis paced through his small living room after sending the soldiers of Narshe off. He was sick with worry for the young lady he sent out on her own. He would never forgive himself if something were to happen. He knew the soldiers spotted her on the bridge and couldn't hold back his racing heart and his mind from jumping to conclusions of her death or imprisonment. He knew the brutality the soldiers would offer to Terra would be hideous. He couldn't bear the thought of them beating her or killing her. Her innocent purple eyes staring at them in fear...

"Bah!" he shouted, stomping his foot.

"I think I came a bit late." called an amused voice from behind Arvis. The old man twirled around and sighed in relief. A young man with an open, blue vest and blue bandana , sat by the open window, which Arvis was sure he locked. He growled in impatience.

"You sure are late! How much gold coins did I waste? I spent nearly enough for a king to live and you came _late_! Late by _many_ hours!" the young man held his hands up and offered a quick grin.

"Wow, wow Arvis. Calm down, I'm here now, aren't I?" the young man looked around and ran a hand through his sandy-blond hair, knocking snow to the floor. "Now what was I summoned for, good friend?"

"What you ask! Defiantly not to _slow_ things down!" he turned and told him to follow him to the next room. "Locke, I trust that you have fair judgment?"

"Aye, I consider myself to have fair judgment, dear Arvis. Please, tell me before I grow old." he muttered, leaning against the wall as Arvis dug through the cabinet of his dresser. He pulled a gold circlet out and held it to Locke.

"Do you know what this is?"

"Um...jewelry?" he chuckled, amused.

Arvis sighed, rubbing his eyes and he tossed it to Locke. "I'm surprised a thief doesn't know what that is..."

"I prefer the term `Treasure Hunter', Arvis." he growled. He peeled his eyes from Arvis and gazed down at the circle band. He nudged the red jewel around with his index finger and noticed the little pins decorating the inside of the crown. His eyes went wide when he saw the dried up blood. "Arvis...what...what are you doing with this!" he snapped.

The old man sighed, leaning his own weight against the same wall. "I found this girl...she is so young, Locke, barely nineteen! She is new to this...this town. She was hurt, badly, in the caves-"

"Arvis! Spit it out!" Locke snarled, getting up. Arvis stopped him.

"The Imperial troops are looking for her, as well as Narshe's guards. They...they don't understand that she was being...that she had that blasted device on her head!" Locke dropped the crown to the floor and stepped back.

"You...you're helping the Imperial Witch! I knew I saw this someplace!"

"She was forced Locke! You know what this thing does to its victims! She had no conscious of what she was doing, no say over anything! She was being controlled!" Arvis crossed his arms and took a deep breath. "She's confused Locke and all alone...please, I promised her I would send someone to get her."

Locke swore under his breath and smiled, standing up straight. "Alrighty then, which way did she go?"

The tunnels Arvis had led him to was narrow and bitterly cold. He had to take another pathway because Arvis informed him that the bridge had fallen when she ran away. Of course he knew the bridge was old, but he didn't expect it to be that old.

The old man joined him as far as he could until he had no idea which way she had gone. "I'm not sure myself, Locke, but I had pointed to these caves. I saw her enter them, but I've no idea where she could have gone. I have to get back before the soldiers notice I am gone, but please, promise you will keep her save." His voice was pleading the thief, his eyes wide with sorrow. Locke nodded and patted Arvis' shoulder.

"I will, Arvis, I promise. Now head back and get warm." Locke pulled the cape Arvis gave him, up and more securely about his shoulders and waved at him. "Go on now, go. I'll be fine." Arvis thanked Locke kindly before he turned and hurried off. Locke sighed, shaking his head. Now which way? He could see six different tunnels and the paths leading to them all looked the same, yet there were no markings of people. He took a few steps forward and searched the ground around the six paths carefully, but his search came up empty.

He stood up straight and rubbed his chin. If I were a frightened young girl, which way would I take? He closed his eyes and tried to act out a panicked young girl running for her life. He took a step forward and then pictured ten men chasing him. He opened his eyes. "This isn't help," he growled. "But picking a place is better than nothing, I guess." He decided to head straight. Please, he thought, be the right way.

He swore when he looped back to where he started. Okay, he growled, obviously straight is not the way. Now I have two lefts and three different rights. He hurried through the last one to the right and following that tunnel, ended up coming back through the tunnel right next to the one he took. He swore again. How the hell did these miners go through here without getting lost? He took the next right tunnel and ended up in the straight tunnel. He could see pickets and buckets of dirt sitting against the wall. He could tell they haven't been used in years. Spider-webs crisscrossed from the ceiling of the cave down to little holes in the walls. Packs of rats were gathered at the corners of the mines, sniffing around and squeaking as they followed some scent of food. He kicked dirt at them, annoyed, and they all scattered about, shrieking at him as they ran into holes much smaller than their body mass.

He turned again and took the first tunnel to the left. He was glad to see that it kept going straight and not turning into a cave he already explored. He had taken the time to mark where he had been in this one tunnel. He took his knife out and drew giant marks on the wall that would help him separate and remember each path he took. Slowly he made his way down the tunnel and slowly, after exploring various small tunneled out rooms, an hour passed and he was facing the last pathway, a trial he hadn't taken yet. He took a step forward and wiped his forehead clean of sweat.

_Jeez, what did I get myself into this time?_ Locke growled to himself as he walked through the last tunnel of Narshe. It was hard for him to think that she, a weak girl recovering from a supposed fight, entered into this cave, but Arvis assured him this was the mine she had entered. He paused halfway through the tunnel and opened his water-skin and drank a good helping. "Where could you be...?" he stepped forward but paused when he noticed small prints all over the ground of the caves. He leaned down and examined them. _She must have been in a hurry_. He felt the tracks he guessed were the girl's. She was being chased. _Damn it! I might be too late!_ He shot up and rushed through the cave, following the footprints.

The path led him to an end - a gaping hole. He looked to his left and saw another pathway and rubbed his chin as he leaned down to test the strength of the hole's edges. They were too loose, not even a rat could hold on. "Hmm..." he looked down the hole and couldn't see a thing. "Dammit. She could be down there..." he opened his bags and searched for his sturdy rope, which he tied around a boulder. "Well," he took a breath. "Here's hoping I live through this!" and then jumped down the hole. He was overwhelmed with great thrill when he thought the hole would go on forever, until he tugged the rope and it stopped just twenty feet off the ground. It was still too dark to see and he knew he would break his legs if he jumped down. Peering around, he spotted a decent sized edge and swung over to it, releasing the rope when his feet touched the edges. Grabbing onto the rocky sides of the wall, he climbed down halfway and then jumped off, landing heavily besides a giant pile of rubble and old timber.

Locke sniffed and sneezed. "Jeez, what's that smell?" he sniffed again and coughed. _Oh no! This is bad!_ He knew the smell was gas. "Okay...calm down, Locke! Just don't light any fires and you'll be fine!" he chirped, coughing into his hands. _Now to find the girl..._ he heard light coughing and turned around. "Anyone there?" he called out several times. "Anyone here?" he took a step forward and heard a hurtful moan and glanced down. _Crap!_ he leaned down and dug through the rubble he was standing on. _Shit, Arvis will kill me if I hurt her more!_ After he tossed the last rock, all he could see was the silhouette of a woman.

"Okay...at least I can get out of here now-" he pulled her up off the ground and held her close as he etched toward the walls, placing one hand after the other, searching for a way out.

The tunnels, to his delight, were easier to leave then to enter. He followed a little path which led to an old stairway and was about to head up, but stopped when he heard voices.

"Finally," growled an angered man. "a pathway down. Alright men, you take the left and right. I'll take the middle, don't let her get pass you and if you have to, kill her." Locke yelped and peered around the side of the stairs to see ten men entering into the cave from the other end. He gasped. Crap…what do I do? "Men, don't light anything. This cave is a ticking bomb, keep the fire out and bring out the glow beams." Locke peered again and saw four of the men holding sticks of glowing beams outward, in front of them. The leader, Locke assumed, was the one in the middle. He was tall and very old. His face was covered entirely with a beard. A hat of wool sat upon his fat, round, red face. His hand clutched tightly around the hilt of a bronze sword. He glared ahead toward the pile and swore.

She got loose. Men, get ready, she is very dangerous." They nodded and held their spears out and tightened into a circle around the leader. The short man stepped forward and Locke immediately knew him. Captain Jennlur? What…? He retired last year…Great, ten men by myself. He heard movement and looked up the stairs. Six small, furry white animals with little purple wings, stood before them. They were about three foot four, holding tall spears and little swords. The one in front grinned.  
"Help, thief?"  
Locke chuckled, sitting the young girl down against the wall. He whispered, leaning down. "Now, Kapu, why would you call me that?"

"Thief stole relic, that's how." She laughed, gripping the shaft of her spear. "Thief need help, or fine?" he grinned. Despite her bad English, which he would often try and teach her when he was in town, was still far better than last year.  
"I could use that help, actually." She nodded and turned to her fleet of small warriors. She spoke in their language and pointed down the stairs. Two of them jumped over Locke and landed beside him.

"Mog, Stezil help." She pointed to herself. "Kapu help with Teal." Locke nodded and stood, reaching for his dagger.

"Thank you Kapu, this is very much appreciated." He turned to Stezil and Mog and pointed to te left. "Take the left, Kapu and Teal can you guys take straight? I'll handle the right side. If anyone can take down the leader, do it, but please don't do anything dangerous. Alright, split up!" he turned and made sure that the young girl was fine before he hurried off.

Locke glanced around edges of his hiding spot to see Stezil sneaking up behind one of the men. Mog was following close behind, his little ears pulled flat against his skull as they sprinted around a pile of rubble and behind the guard, who was watching the entrance they took. Locke tapped his palm and nodded to Stezil, he grinned, sharp teeth shining brilliantly in the dark. He gave Mog his spear and reached for his dagger. With a silent leap, he was airborne. He landed on the man's shoulder and before the man could scream, the little Moogle killed him and held onto his arm as he gently floated down, laying the dead man down without a sound. He nodded to Locke and he and Mog started to drag the body out of sight.

Peeking around the other edge, he could see Kapu and Teal waiting in their place; spear in hand, eyes gleaming proudly. He took a deep breath and crept out from his hiding spot, taking one careful step after another, nearing the unsuspecting guard swiftly. His hand gripped the hilt of the small, little dagger buckled to his side. If this man heard him and alarmed the others, he and the Moogles, even that young girl, would surely die. He swallowed as he stood as quietly as he could and quickly covered the man's mouth. He stuck the dagger into his back, killing him. Lowering the body to the ground, he carried it behind the rocky wall and wiped the blade on the man's pants and then waved to Stezil, who ran ahead with Mog until they met up with Kapu and Teal.

Kapu nodded, her black eyes blinked as she gave her spear to Stezil and then crawled on all four and ran so gracefully toward one of the men holding the glow sticks. She lept up and struck the man heavily on the head, knocking him out. The movement was heard, but before the other men could turn and see, she put out the glow stick. The other with the glowing stick gasped, stepping back. "W-we need to leave, Jen!" he shouted, holding the stick tightly against this chest. He growled.  
"Shut up, Cale! There is nothing here, do you understand?" he nodded. "Now keep the light ahead of me." He turned his back and then sighed when the light faded. "Cale….must I repeat myself?" He turned and gasped when he saw a white furry monster snarling ferally at him, holding the glow stick. "Let go of that, you beast!" he shouted, swinging at it. It jumped gracefully and landed on the tip of the spear, it snapped the glow stick and all light faded. He panicked and dropped his spear, stepping back as he searched all around him, his breathing hard.

"Fight me in the light!" he commanded, reaching for his sword. He heard the snarl and the shout of his men and knew that monster had friends.

Locke gently laughed as he dodged a jab of a spear and broke the shaft of the spear by smashing his elbow into the middle. It snapped and the man immediately reached for his bronze sword. He held it out in front of him. "D-don't move, or I'll kill you!" Locke stepped back and then hurled his dagger at the man's throat. He muttered before he fell to his knees and then dropped to his side, dead. He swallowed and then retrieved his dagger.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered and then ran off toward another soldier, slashing at one of the Moogles.

"Show yourself, rat!" he snarled, swinging his sword left and right. "Come out!" he screamed, turning when he heard a familiar voice.

"They fight like real warriors, Jen." Jen gazed down at the voice.  
"Locke Cole?" he dared to ask.

"In the flesh and blood," he muttered. "Jen…what are you doing down here? I thought you retired…"

"I did, but then…then this monster comes to town and starts to torch everything! She's down here someplace, Locke, and we must kill her before she gets free."

"I found her. She will cause no threat, Jen!"

"Nonsense! I watched her kill hundreds of men!

"She was being controlled by a slave crown."

"I don't care," he muttered, coldly. "And if you choose to protect that thing, then I will have to kill you." He suddenly turned and exploded into a fury of attacks, his bronze sword always hitting Locke in several places. The thief jumped back and ducked just as steel flew over his head and got stuck inside of the wall. He swore as he tugged on it.

"Listen to yourself, Jen, this girl was controlled!"

"She killed people!" he shouted, pulling the sword free, he charged toward Locke. From his right, he could see Mog. He jumped forward and crashed into Jen's side, knocking him down. Before the leader could respond, the little furry animal ran off and soon, from above, dropped another, which Locke knew was Teal. He smashed down hard onto his head and then continually smacked his face and then flew away. Growling, he tried to smack away the next warrior Kapu, who started to kick at his face. He punched the poor creature and it fell unconscious. Locke swore.

"Kapu!" he shouted. Raged, he lunged forward and sliced at Jen's chest; a clear scratch appeared against his armor. With a laugh, Jen smashed his fist down into Locke's jaw and threw him to the ground.

"Damn you thief! I've had enough of your crappy little games!" he held his sword up high. "This will be the last of you, and that little witch." He brought the sword down. Locke rolled out of the way and kicked Jen's feet, knocking him to the ground, his face smashed into the ground. Jen coughed, getting up on his knees. He looked up then, to see Locke standing above him, his face completely red.

"I'm sorry, Jen…" and then he stuck his dagger into the man's chest, digging it in deeper. "Please, leave this world kindly…" and then he slid the dagger out and watched as Jen fell to the ground, his face rigid with hate until suddenly, his face became blank and he fell to the ground. He sighed and looked down at Kapu. He shook her a little and she woke with a start. "You okay, Kapu?" she nodded and looked over at her teammates.

"Kapu well. Clan?" he nodded. "help more?" Locke laughed, but shook his head.

"Nah...Nothing else-". "There is one thing. Would you mind helping me out with the girl?" Kapu jumped and pointed to Mog and Teal.

"Teal, Mog help thief!" she looked at Stezil. "Stezil!" and then she started muttering in her own language. Mog and Teal ran over to the girl's unconscious body and started to lift her body. Locke chuckled, helping them steady her body onto their little, but powerful arms.

"Thanks, Moogles! I couldn't have saved her without you…"

She opened her eyes weakly and sat up. Pain seared through her back and legs as she glanced around, curiously. She swallowed, wondering if the guards had found her, or if the Imperial Soldiers did instead. Besides her, roared a lively fire. She sniffed the air and her stomach growled eagerly at the smell of cooking meat. She blushed despite no one being there and reached a hand out toward the food, but decided against it and crossed her arms tiredly around her own body.

"There's enough here for the both of us." she blinked and gazed up at the face of a young man. He wore all black, with a loose bandanna around his head of dirty-blond hair. His eyes were hazel and his face was rugged, most likely from traveling. He smiled down at her and leaned down, holding a apple out to her. She blushed when he held it out to her. Hesitatingly, she reached out and took the apple. Her fingers gently wrapped around the apple and some of his hand and then she pulled the apple away.

"T-thank you...?"

"Locke, Locke Cole. Master Adventurer." he blinked at her and laughed at her confused face. He sat down beside her. "Arvis sent me after you..."

"Arvis?" she asked, thinking back to the house belonging to the kind old man that risked his life to save her. She smiled._ Arvis..._ "He actually sent you?"

"Of course!" he chirped aloud. "He didn't exactly tell me your name...". Her blush increased in shade.

"I'm so sorry!" she held a hand out to him. "I'm Terra."

"Well Terra," he chuckled, shaking her hand. "It's very nice to meet you!" when he pulled his hand away.

"Thank you for saving me, Mr. Cole."

"Please, please. Call me Locke. And you're very welcome. Besides, you should save your thanks for the Moogles, they really helped to save you." he frowned when she looked down at the apple. "What's wrong?"

"I...I don't know what to do now."

"What do you mean? You could always go back to your family." she grimaced at that and lowered her eyes even more, turning her face from his. "What? How far are you from them? I could help you get there-"

"I don't remember them..."

"Oh...adopted?"

"What?" she asked, giving him a confused face. "I can't remember them, or where I'm from. Or anything." Locke's mouth dropped open.

"You have amnesia?" he made a shocked face. She looked up at him with a disappointed face.

"Arvis said it would come back to me, in time."

"Well he is usually right." Locke muttered, laying a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure you'll remember and until then I promise I'll protect you!" she smiled warmly at him and thanked him. "No need, it's all in a Treasure Hunter's job!" she laughed, groaning when the pain returned to her back. Locke gently laid her back down.

"You should rest until you are well enough to travel."

"Travel?"

"Yes. Our next stop is Figaro, a castle just south of here." she nodded weakly to him and yawned, laying back down peacefully. She wasn't aware she was under a large tree. Its branches spread out above her by almost twenty feet. They were thick and she could hear rain...or snow? Whatever it was, the tree was strong enough to keep the elements off of them. She smiled gently and closed her eyes_. Thank you...Locke..._

Locke decided to let her rest another day; he didn't want to hurt her by forcing her to move. So, the next day he tested her strength and lifted her up on her legs. She wobbled around for a bit, but slowly got a better stance under her weight. She was still weak, but she well enough for them to leave the borders of Narshe. He knew it would be a while until she recovered from that fall, and whatever else happened to her before.

When they passed a stream, he decided they should rest for a bit. Glad for the rest, Terra sat down near the stream and stretched out under the sun, sighing. Locke sat down near her and tossed a fresh slice of dried meat to her. "Feeling better?" he teased gently.

She didn't open her eyes, but quietly laughed. "No. I'm so tired...how long have we've been walking?"

The young traveler gazed up and then chuckled. "About an hour."

"An hour?" she sounded horrified. "It felt longer than that..." she sat up, slowly. "We should move again." she muttered, eating the meat quickly. He guessed it was because she was hungry, but she was probably trying not to slow him down. Locke nodded and got up after swallowing his chuck of meat.

"Alright. By sun down today, we'll be out of the Narshe borders, if we're quick."

"And then?" she asked, following behind him.

"Into a very hot valley," he sounded tired and hot already. "and then into a pretty windy meadow and then we'll see the sands of Figaro's desert."

"D-desert?" she frowned. "A castle is in the desert?" she sounded annoyed. "Who would put a castle in the desert!"

"A very smart king. Not the current king, but a very smart one. It's not as bad as you think." she crossed her arms and followed Locke.

Day came to an end and she knew Locke was right. She could see a valley ahead and shivered. _Great. I'm going to be tired and hot._ She kicked at the ground when Locke turned. "Alright, we'll rest here-"

"Shouldn't we move through some of the valley while it's cold...tonight?"

Locke stared at her in astonishment. "Actually...that's a bright idea. Good thinking, Terra." he laughed at her blushed face. "we'll rest when we've made some distance."

The distance, to Locke, was six hours later. It was going to be morning soon, which meant the heat was near. She wasn't too happy about that, but at least they covered some ground. Putting a lot of distance between them and Narshe, and probably the guards and Imperial Soldiers chasing them. They continued for a few more hours before Locke paused and pointed to a low lying tree.

"I guess we should stop for now...you look like you are dead." he laughed and poked her arm. She sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"I am a bit tired." her stomach growled hungrily and her face turned bright red. "And...and hungry." Locke grinned and took her arm, dragging her off toward the tree.

"You rest and eat this," he opened his bag and held out some bread and dried meat. "I'll be back with water and some wood." he ran off after that, leaving Terra to think to herself.

Locke sighed when he found thin, moldy branches scattered across the valley. He was a little worried about Terra, this new girl he helped out. She seemed a bit odd and he knew she did horrible things...no, not her, the Imperial Army did. He knew there would be problems as they advanced on their adventure to Figaro and he knew they would face lots of problems and battles and he wasn't sure if Terra was recovered enough to face those things.

He growled, shaking his head. Why was he thinking of this? Why was he **so** concerned about a girl he literally just met the other day? He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. _What would Edgar do?_ He heard footsteps and grasped the hilt of his dagger but sighed when he heard Terra's voice.

"Locke-"

"What are you doing here, you should be resting-"

"I couldn't! There were men heading over."

"Soldiers?" she nodded. "Alright...we should move on, no sense in risking everything, right?" she agreed faintly and followed him off toward the north of the valley.

Even though it was cold and dark out, Terra tried to keep her courage up. Her legs hurt, her back was sore and her head throbbed, but as long as Locke kept going, she would keep walking too. The valley soon started to dip down, into an almost bowl shape. The hill down was steep, hard and crumbling away at their feet. Locke, scouting again and charting out a path, would tell Terra where and when to follow. The whole planned trip down one hill, to keep from falling and breaking anything, took up many hours, because often the hill's side would crumble to any weight.

When they reached the end, Locke sighed and looked up toward the moon. It was lowering and he could tell it was getting lighter out. He would have called for a stop, but he decided against it. He had no idea if the Narshe soldiers had Chocobos or not, so if they stopped too soon, they might be caught. And, if they didn't stop, Terra might pass out of die from exhaustion. He knew how tired she was and how sore she was. The fall back at Narshe would have left a person's legs broken…yet hers were perfectly fine. He glanced back at her and saw her following, her eyes half-way closed. She stumbled over a little rock but quickly gained her balance and impishly smiled at Locke. He nodded to her and then turned back to look at the moon.

_I should just find her a place to rest…_ he swore tiredly and turned to look back at her again. "Follow me Terra, we're gonna take a rest now." She smiled and hurried after him.

He led her up a foothill and searched for a worthy tree for shelter. It took nearly an hour, which he let her sit down and rest her bones. He found a tall, wide tree with branches wide enough to lay on and smiled. At least the Narshe men would suspect them sleeping in the trees. _But what do I do about a fire?_ He shrugged and went to tell Terra.

He let her use his hands as a stepping ladder and gently shoved her up on the branch. When he seated himself opposite of her, he dug through the little pack he had and found a thin, brown blanket. He held it out to her. "It'll keep you a little warmer…" he muttered, but she shook her head.

"No, no. You keep that, you've helped me enough."

"Well…look, I'm not cold, okay?" he held it out again. "Just take it…" she smiled warmly at him and gently took the blanket.

"Thank you Locke…" and then she cuddled up against the back of the tree and yawned, rubbing at her eyes. She blushed. "Goodnight…Locke."

[-]

Locke pushed at her arm until she woke with a start. He held two, cooked lizards on a stick out and grinned. "Good mornin'! Brought you somethin' that will defiantly stay in your stomach!" she accepted one of the sticked lizards and frowned, her eye brows pulling up.

"….people eat lizards?"

"Sure," he said, ripping at his cooked meat. "Its…mreat…meally." She giggled at him and began to eat her own cooked lizard. She had to admit, it was pretty good. Even though the lizard was a little bigger than her open hand, her stomach still growled terrible and she couldn't help but blush when Locke gazed up and chortled at her, elbowing her side. "You still hungry? Well, they probably didn't feed you much, and you probably didn't eat much at Arvis. Personally, I hate his cooking – ew! I'm a lot better, although Ed—" he paused. "Well, I have some friends who cook even better than me, believe it or not." She looked down at the stick that use to hold her cooked meat.

"Is there really something better than a cooked lizard?" she looked up at him, confused. He nodded.

"Of course! There is always roasted pork! Or maybe even salted pork," he started to drool. "I haven't had that in a while." He laughed then. "When we reach the castle, I'll make sure you get so stuffed with food, you will be bigger than a Chocobo!" she laughed and threw her stick down on the ground.

"You're a very silly person, Locke."

"I'm also a very talented thi…treasure hunter!" he grinned and then dug through a little pouch he had. He took her hand and then dropped grapes into them. "I found them when I found the lizards. I thought you'd enjoy them."

"What are they?" she asked, picking one of the little blue berries up.

"They are blueberries, you'll like `em." He jumped out of the tree and looked up at her. "Come on, we should hurry. Who knows where the Narshe soldiers are now." She nodded and slid down the side of the branch when she stuffed the berries in a similar pouch she had buckled to her belt.  
"We will now head down the rest of the hills to finally greet the pretty meadow I talked about—"

"—And then we'll see the sands." She finished for him, grinning at his pleased face.

"So you are excited, eh?"

"For a few things…I want to know what a castle looks like." She admitted. "And…sand." Locke sighed and paused.

"Don't worry about your memory, Terra; I'm sure it'll come back to you soon! In fact, I bet after we spend some time in Figaro, you'll remember everything!" he then took her hand. "Now come on, we should hurry! You'll love the meadow!" and then he ran ahead, dragging her along.

[-]

The meadow wasn't very far, Terra thought, as Locke stopped her completely on a tall hill. She could see past it and see brown ahead. When she asked what it was, Locke smiled and told her it was the desert. She hurried down the hill before Locke and toward the little patches of red and blue flowers. Locke chuckled and followed her down.

Sitting beside her, he watched her pick a flower and look carefully at it, as if flowers never existed and this was the very first time they appeared on the planet. She closed her eyes and sniffed the flower, sighing. "It smells so good."

"They smell like honey, don't they?"

"Honey?" she looked at him, frowning. "No, no, I don't remember honey, but I think they smell like—" she suddenly gasped and dropped the flower. Locke laid a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay, Terra?" she nodded and smiled a little bit.

"They smell like lavender…" slowly Locke's lips pulled up into a proud grin.

"You remember something! Good for you Terra!" he suddenly stopped and raised a hand to her, as if telling her to be silent. In the distance, they could hear the wild barking of dogs and the quiet roar of orders. "Soldiers!" he growled and pulled her up. "We have to hurry!"

"But…but I wanted to see the…the." She recalled the word. "Flowers."

"You can see more at the castle and later on," he grabbed her hand and started to run. "We can't be caught Terra, the soldiers won't let you live." Her eyes went wide as she remembered the dream she had of herself burning people and closed her eyes.

_Was that…real?_


	4. Quickened Healing

_This chapter was to show Locke's thoughts about Terra and to show a little insight as to why Terra wanted to hide her magic at first. You'd get what I mean if you had read the older version of Iron Claw I originally had up... I cut it out at first, 'cause my story was said to be "too" long. I didn't get it, they said it was good, but they didn't want it to be so long. ._  
_And now, people want it longer :D Well, anyone, here is the next chapter. :)_

Chapter: _Quickened Healing_

As the two hurried through the meadow, Terra couldn't help but feel as if someone was behind them, about to grab her by her shoulder and turn her around. She glanced behind her, worried. Nothing was there. She pulled to a stop and tugged on Locke's hand. "What?" he asked, frowning.

"I…I think we are being followed."

"Um…Terra, we already know that."

"No, I mean, it feels like someone is here with us." Locke looked around and slowly, took her hand again. His eyes searched the trees that surrounded them and then around Terra.

"Terra…you're freaking me out…" he whispered. "come on." He tugged at her hand for a few seconds before she sighed and let the thief drag her off.

The wind picked up when the sun left the sky. Everything was so quiet…so, dark. Terra kept close to Locke, she still felt that odd feeling, like someone was behind her, but every time she glanced behind her, nothing was there. Deciding it was time to stop, Locke led her away from the open meadow to a closed off area of high pine trees. He explained to her that they wouldn't be able to have a fire, nor sleep up high, to avoid eyesight. But what he did next was surprising to Terra.

He erased their tracks with a branch and covered their scent by throwing a weird little purple ball against the ground where they had come from. It exploded and covered the ground and fly out toward their path. He had thrown it before the wind, which carried the purple mist out and pass them. He told her the dogs would track them down easily if they were asleep and their scent roaming around the air. He also explained that if the wind was coming from the other direction and they were up on the hill the wind would push against them, not carrying their scent toward the dogs.

This eased her worries away a bit. So, without a fire, he managed to find some harden meat cut in strips and gave her a few pieces as he leaned against the tree trunk beside her. She nibbled at the meat, her eyes locked on the stars. He could tell she was thinking…but of what? He swallowed the last of his pieces and stretched his arms up, catching her attention.

"So, we should get some rest." Terra nodded and attempted to lie down, but gasped when she heard the shouting of men and the barking of dogs. Before she could get up and tell Locke what she heard, an arrow shot pass her and almost struck Locke in the shoulder. He jumped up and noticed the look in her face and knew she heard them. He yanked her up and started to run.

"Where are they!" he shouted, running as fast as she could. Her tired legs couldn't keep up.

"I…I don't know!" she yelled. Another arrow flew pass them. Locke swore and spotted a shallow dip in the ground. When he reached the dip, he pushed Terra in and told her to stay flat.

"Don't move!"

"But I can help—"

"Just stay there!" he shouted as he turned and ran off. She could hear him fighting with them. She peaked out of the dip and saw Locke fighting with two men. The three dogs were barking at him and jumping at his fight. He needed help…but he told her to stay. When he only managed to take down one man, she decided to ignore him. She placed her hand on her sword and swallowed. I have to help him…I have to! And then she rose and hurried, despite her hurting knees, and ran toward the man stabbing at Locke's back.

He heard the man behind him fighting with someone and turned once he kicked his enemy in the chest and knocked him to the ground. He gasped when he saw Terra, sword in hand, quickly parrying all the man's attack. Her sword had turned to gray liquid, forming a shell of steel around the man as she broke through each of his defensive poses. Each time he pulled up a new defense, she tore it down with a swift swipe of the steel blade. He was in awe. This girl, he assumed was so defenseless, was now tearing this one man apart. His earlier judgment of her being dangerous, was true.

He knew she was playing with him, with that kind of skill; she could have easily taken him down. He realized then she wouldn't kill him. He gripped his dagger and when he saw an opening, he flung it forward. It hit his throat, killing him. Terra immediately dropped her sword and gasped, a horrified expression appeared on her face as she backed away from the dead man. Her eyes were wide with terror, her body shaking.

Locke didn't have time to deal with that. He turned and finished off the man lying on the floor, the same man that was still suffering from the kick to his chest. He looked at the dogs and clapped his hands as loud as he could. "Go on! Get out of here!" he kicked rocks at them until they ran off. He took a glimpse at Terra and saw her hiding her face in her hands, her body was until shaking. He came up and gently laid a hand on her back. "Terra?" she jerked away from his touch and stared at him, her eyes misting over. "It's okay, Terra…you didn't harm him, I did."

"I…I was being careful." she insisted, her voice shaky.

"Terra, it was me. I killed him." He sighed and guiding her over to the dip. "You need rest," she ripped away from his grip again. "Terra, come on. You just need something in you and good night's rest."

[-]

The fire roared as he threw more pieces of wood in it. Since they had taken care of the men, they would be safe enough to rest. He would stay up and watch, to be safe, but he needed to rest his body, he knew it. He looked over at her and berated himself for his early apprehension. She sat down, her arms wrapped around her pulled up legs. Her chin rested on her knees, her eyes held nothing but sadness, loneness, worry and innocence. When he had met with Arvis and had started their little trek into the caves, Arvis explained so many little things he understood from Terra in mere moments.

From where he sat, he could actually feel the inner turmoil radiating off of her. Her eyes were so…dull as she watched the fire. The light made her look so much more dangerous than he originally though, but he knew she wasn't. She was so much like a child… the pulling drive to protect her was overwhelming, yet he knew she could handle danger with her own skill, yet he wanted to be there for her…for whatever may come. He wanted to be there, to make sure she pulled through okay. She closed her eyes at some point when he looked away and fell asleep, in the same position. He took his jacket off and laid it over her. He didn't want to dig through his bags and wake her up. He knew she had to sleep off the fear of what happened. His eyes went back to the fire as he recalled all the events since he saved her.

_Did…did I really save an Imperial soldier? Someone who actually destroyed a whole town and killed people?_ His heart raced as he thought of actually saving one of those…beasts, but then he sighed, thinking how horrible it was to enslave a teenage girl, witch or not, it was disgusting and wrong.

Had he made a mistake saving her? Would she be the downfall of everyone…of him?

[-]

The next morning Locke cooked up some fresh meat, which he told Terra was 'bunny'. She had no recollection of bunnies, so she had no problem eating them. She ate with uncertainty though, because Locke had joked about them being evil creatures from the moon. She admitted it was good, so he didn't want to show her what they looked like, encase she would get angry or hurt over it.  
After their meal, Locke led her to the stream that ran along the meadow's western side. While Terra did her "girly" things, Locke refilled their water-skins and any other container he could find. He knew that they were going to need them when they reached the desert and he was glad that the stream stretched longer toward the desert, just encase he had to refill again. As he waited for her to come to the spot he told her about, he watched the water drift a twig away and watched as the fish swam up to the surface to eat the fallen bugs. He smiled as he let a finger drag through the water. He heard footsteps.

"….Locke…" called a quiet voice. He smiled and stood up, wiping his hands on his pants as he turned around. He gasped when he saw her holding her hands out toward him, a worried frown on her face. They were red, swollen, bleeding and cut up terribly. He took a small breath.

"What happened?" he asked gently as he took her hands. She looked behind her and frowned heavily.

"I touched these weird looking flowers…" she whispered, feeling guilty for some reason. Locke chuckled. "You never said flowers could hurt you…" she pouted, her eyes locked on her hands.

"Were they red and purple?" she nodded. "You touched the Nickleberry bush. They are like more extreme poison ivy…" he realized then she wouldn't know what that was. "Here, come to the water." When she sat down near the stream, he flipped her hands over and told her to keep them in the water. While her hands stayed under the cold water, he dug through his bags for some sort of medication to apply to her hands. Her interest was catch by the fish.

When he found it, he chuckled. "Ah, found ya!" it was a small red bottle, nearly empty. "Okay Terra, give me your hands and…I…" he paused when he noticed what kept her attention. "Fascinating, isn't it?" he asked, taking her hands. She looked up at him.

"What do you mean?"

"The way life works….isn't it?" he queried, nudging his head over toward the fish. He knew that was why she watched so intently. She let a small smile appear on her pale, young face.

"Do you know how they breathe under water?"

"Oh, so you know about water, eh?" she gave him a confused face, so he just shrugged. "They have things called 'gills' which takes air from the water so they can breathe."

"There are so many things I need to know…" she muttered. "that I want to know…" he sighed and finished applying the medicine.

"Don't worry, Terra. You will! Soon, you'll be telling me what things are or why they do the things they do." He stood up, helping her up too. "So cheer up, kay?"

She smiled. "Thanks Locke," she held her hands close to her stomach and shuffled around on her feet. "It doesn't burn anymore…" he ruffled her hair.

"Good!" he smirked. "so how about we continue our journey?" she started to follow him, her eyes on her red, marked up hands.

"What…is at Figaro?" she asked, timidly.

"The king…he'll know what to do about this situation we have."  
"Situation?"

"Yea, he'll know how to help you…us, actually." He laughed but looked back at her. "Don't worry, he's been my friend for seven years, you don't have to fear him. He's a good man, if you get past a few flaws." He laughed aloud then.

Flaws? She thought, frowning. "What kind of flaws?" Locke laughed.

[-]

The meadow seems to go on forever, or so Terra thought. She was tempted to touch all the new pretty flowers she saw, but remembered her encounter with the Nickleberry bush and frowned. She didn't think that things that can't move could hurt you so bad. She looked down at her hands and sighed at the red, swollen skin. The light sting she felt was annoying, like someone poking you with a piece of straw and you couldn't stop them. She put her hands together gently and continued on walking behind Locke. All she could think about was her hands getting better. The constant annoyance of the sting was so overwhelming. She glanced back down at her hands and then fanned them around, the sting now turning to burn, or so her mind led her to believe.

Soon, her thoughts were cluttered with ideas; chopping her hands off, using up all their drinking water…and a little tiny nick at the back of her head that just kept whispering something, of what, she didn't know. She decided she couldn't take it anymore and closed her eyes and mouthed a single word. Her hands glowed a gentle green and then the light vanished. Slowly her eyes opened and she saw her healed hands, a grin of triumph appeared on her face.

Locke had noticed that she had stopped following and then turned around and saw her staring at her hands. He took one of her hands and gasped. "Your…hands, how did they heal so fast?" he sounded afraid…should she tell him?

"I don't know…maybe that stuff you put on my hands healed it."

"Hmm…" he smiled and then chortled. "Yea, that must be it!" he let her hand drop and then continued onward, his voice carried back to her. "We're almost there. By tomorrow night, we should be in the desert. Now that we don't have to worry about Narshe's troops anymore, we can rest tonight." She smiled and ran after him.

"That sounds very nice." She admitted, sheepishly as she skipped along to his side. He noticed the sudden energy boost she had and laughed, in a teasing way.

"What happened to you?" she looked up at him. "You...you seem to have gotten a lot more…bouncy." She corked an eyebrow at him and shrugged, running ahead. "H-hey! W-wait up for me!" he called out to her, trying to catch up.

[-]

Locke was completely stunned by her sudden turn around. One moment she was wry and hurt, the next she was completely energized and her wounds healed. He didn't want to think about how that happened, but he couldn't help feeling like she had gone under certain drugs in the Empire, that maybe healed her faster. He shuddered at that. Could they have so powers?

He looked in front of him and saw her still running ahead, despite it being forty minutes of straight up running. He was so tired out, his legs throbbed, his head hurt and he was sweating like a pig! He wiped his brow and sighed. How can she have so much energy! He bitterly thought as he sat down for a few moments. Curious, he glanced back up and saw her turning around to see him. When she had noticed him sitting, she giggled and ran over.

"Tired…?"

"Yea…just a bit." He replied, laughing.

"Oh…" she frowned and then sat down beside him. "Was I going to fast?"

"Ahaha!" Locke covered his face with his hand. "I guess that medication did more than heal your hand, huh?" she blushed.

"Am I being a problem…?"

"No, not at all. But no more with the running, okay?" she nodded. "Well, for right now. I'm tuckered out and yet you could probably run on for hours!" he joked and then fell to his back. She fiddled with her clothing and then sat down beside him.

"Locke…?"

"Hmm?"

"What if…if the king doesn't want me to stay there?" Locke sat up to look her in the eyes. "What if he doesn't want an Imperial soldier there?"

"Well, first of all, you aren't a soldier anymore, and you weren't before. You were forced. Besides that, he wouldn't throw a 'woman' out on the streets or punish you for something you couldn't control."

She smiled. "Is he really that kind?" Locke burst out laughing again, Terra gave him a confused look. "What did I say?"

* * *

_Here it is! The next older, longer version. If I forgot to italicize thoughts, or made any errors, please tell me me about them! :D_  
_Anyway...review! :D_


	5. Beat Quick

_H__ere is the next chapter. :)_

Chapter: _Beat Quick  
_

When Locke wasn't dog tired, they started up again. With Terra on an invisible 'leash', they went with a steady pace. The meadow started to slowly turn into dying, brown grass. The flowers appeared less and less until finally, Terra couldn't find any flowers.

She commented on it, and Locke shrugged. "Well, we're reaching the desert Terra. There's nothing really alive in the desert…not even flowers." She frowned at that.  
"If flowers can't live, how will we?"

"Ahaha! We'll survive! I've gone through the desert a hundreds of times! It's hot, but we'll have water. It'll only take a day to get through the desert."

"It will be hot?" she asked, sighing. "It seems like it's always hot," she protested, bitterly as she kicked at the dry, clomps of dirt scattered across the ground. Locke rubbed at his neck and glanced over at her.

"Aw, don't worry too much, Terra. The desert isn't that hot. Surprisingly, the castle is in the perfect condition!" he smiled as the previous stream came into view when the topped the hill. He grinned proudly when the desert appeared as well. He pointed ahead of them. "There's Figaro's sands!"

Terra followed his finger and gawked at the large body of sand before her. It sparkled like diamonds. The sun, despite how hot it looked out there, brought a blanket of beautiful sunlight over the sands of Figaro. Appearing as a speck (well, smaller than a speck, Terra had thought) was what she assumed, was the castle. When she asked, Locke laughed, nodding. "Yup! Figaro castle! She is very consumed by mecca; I think you'll like it."

_She? The king calls his castle a she…?_ Terra thought, frowning. _I have much to learn_; she sighed in defeat and hurried down the hill to catch up with Locke.

The sand, under Terra's heeled boots, sunk in under her weight, which captivated her interest. She kicked smaller sand dunes as they went and watched as it spilled over itself so elegantly. She spotted little lizards, named thanks to Locke, and asked if they were going to eat it. He shook his head and gave the names to the plants and various other sand creatures, like the Narzûla, a small crablike bug that ate the lizard's eggs. They stopped by a cluster of cacti, Locke didn't want Terra (or himself) passing out from the heat, so he said to take only a few gulps of water.

Terra, reluctant to stop drinking the water, had to hand her water-skin to Locke, for safety measures. She pouted and tutted, complaining that her mouth was so dry and her throat hurt so much. Locke wished he could give her more…but he couldn't. With a great heave, Locke led her over to a barrel cactus and unsheathed the bigger of the two daggers he carried and started to saw through the top.

He yanked the pulp free and handed it to her quickly. "Chew it and mash it up," he said. "Don't eat it. Suck the water out…yup, yup! Like that!" he laughed when she spilled a bit on the sand. "Don't worry; there are plenty of Cacti around. There's a rumor," he whispered, looking around as Terra sucked the last of the water out of the pulp. "That…there is a terrifyingly huge cactus that roams the deserts of any land and…" her eyes went wide. "Eats them!" she jumped at the word and dropped the pulp, looking around.

"I-is it h-here?"

"I've never seen it…but I know its watching us." He said, in a spooky voice. She swallowed and stepped closed to him.

"Will it eat us?"

Locke grinned, rolling his eyes as he threw an arm over her shoulder. "Nah, you wouldn't taste good! I, on the other hand, might be too good!" she giggled at him and shook her head.

"You smell like grass and dirt…you wouldn't taste very good, Locke." He blushed at that and crossed his arms.

"I smell like nature, thank you very much!" he snorted and headed off, dramatizing his anger. She laughed and ran after him.

[-]

Being as tired as she was, Terra pulled to a stop and yawned, rubbing at her eyes. It was so cold, the sun had fallen and the desert became so cold, she could barely think. Although she had more clothing than Locke, she seemed to have been shaking more than him, which to her, was odd. He spared one glance behind him before he shrugged off his jacket and gave it to her. She smiled and thanked him, wishing they could stop for the night. Just as she was about to ask, Locke halted a little too quickly and she bumped into him.

"It's getting late…and cold, we should rest."

Terra sighed in relieve and sat down, stretching her legs and arms out as she relaxed on the oddly soft sand. Locke dropped to the ground beside her and stretched his arms underneath his head and watched the stars. He turned his head over to look at Terra. "hungry?" he wondered, watching her eyes. They were soft, with both anticipation for further developments and fear…for whatever she thought might happen. She nodded, dully.

His jacket was way too big on her, so she pulled it off as he dug through his pouches. She laid it over her as a blanket and rolled over on her side, facing Locke, a wry look on her face.

"Locke?" He hmm'd her. "I haven't…remembered anything big yet…is that a bad sign?" she asked, nervously. Locke looked up as he tossed a slice of dried meat at her, she caught it quickly.

"Not a bad sign." He had a grim face on as he just stared; his eyes lost – what Terra thought – was a memory. "Just…be patient. I'm sure it'll come to you soon. And while you are busy remembering, I'll be protecting you, promise." He winked at her and she blushed, looking down at her meal for the night.

I will…thank you Locke. She gasped at the sound of thudding and watched as Locke stood up quickly, dagger in hand. She got to her feet swiftly, her hands shaking as she tried to search out whatever the sound was, hidden in the darkness of the desert. The thudding was getting louder. She gripped the meat until it started to smash back into a mushy substance. Fear bit at her mind as she summoned up the courage to ask Locke: "W-what is it…?"

"I don't know…sssh!" he whispered, looking around. Terra heard the faintest snap and turned her head. It took a few seconds, but her eyes adjusted to darkness and she saw a man riding on a Chocobo, heading toward them, and a spear in hand.  
"Locke!" she pointed, stepping back as the rider got closer. Locke followed her finger but couldn't see anything.

"Where!" he growled, she pointed again.

"Behind you!" she shouted as she ducked, trying to pull herself into a ball for protection. Locke squinted his eyes and then slowly smirked, sheathing his dagger. He laughed as he waved at the rider. Terra glanced up at him, confused. "What are you doing!" she gasped.

"It's nothing to fear, it's one of the king's scouts. Come on, get up." He lifted her by the arm and noticed as it fell from her hands, that she had smashed the dried meat into a mushy ball. "Come on." He whispered again, turning to the rider as he finally made it to them. The rider of the Chocobo spared Terra a long, awkward glance before returning back to Locke.

"May I ask your needs of….Locke, is that you?" asked the rider, smiling. "It's me, Ven!" Locke grinned and held a hand out for him to shake. "Haven't seen you for…what, three months now? Where have you've been? The king was worried you were finally caught stealing!"

Locke grinned impishly as he wrapped his arms behind his head. "Treasure hunting!" he responded, indignantly. "I was off at South Figaro, had to spare some time there, and then I headed to Narshe, a call from Arvis arrived for me."

"Ah, the king got a letter from Arvis four days ago, any ideas why?" he asked, his giant bird kicking nervously at the sand.

Locke shrugged. "A few, but the king should hear from me…you understand, right?" Ven nodded. "Good…Niral has grown," Locke commented, patting the bird's head.

"She has…I'm afraid she can't hold you guys though, she's not very strong, not yet at least."

"I know," Locke grumbled, looking over at Terra. She was flustered that they had entered into a full conversation, leaving her awkwardly standing there, silent. "Could you relay a message to the king ahead of time? I know how he hates not to prepare…"

"Sure, Locke, anything." He handed the thief a slip of paper and then a pen. The thief wrote quickly, and from comments from Ven, very sloppily. When he was done, Ven nodded to Locke and then kindly bowed his head to Terra, a rise of his hand to his chest, a gesture used to say goodbye to women. "I take my leave. Goodbye Locke," he looked at Terra and smiled. "Goodbye, m'lady." And then he kicked the sides of the Chocobo and turned back to the castle with a sudden jolt of energy.

Locke had rolled his eyes, a look of disappointment on his face. Terra asked what was wrong. "The king…is what's wrong! He's already gotten to his soldiers!" he huffed and then sighed, rubbing his eyes. "We should get some rest. I sent Ven to tell the king we are coming ahead of time. Who knows, maybe the king will send out some stronger birds so we don't have to walk?" he laughed.

To Terra, that seemed unlikely…

[-]

Locke was right; the king would send a stronger bird…only one. And from experience, Locke knew the new Chocobos at Figaro were too young to hold many riders, so when the Chocobo arrived on its own, fully tamed, Locke gave it to Terra. "You need it more than me." He smiled at her tired expression and knew she was thankful and showed her how to maneuver a Chocobo. Once she gained control and understanding of them, he told her to only go slow, so he could walk beside her and the friendly beast.

Locke started to sing a tune softly as they continued, and Terra couldn't help but smile at it. It was a tune she couldn't help but feel like she's heard before. It was soft and lulling, pulling at her senses, to make her sleep. She opened her eyes and looked down at Locke. "What is that?"

He paused. "Is what?"

"What…you're doing, just then." She seemed to have gotten flustered, she looked away. Locke oh'd her.

"I was singing."

"But…what?"

"Hm…oh, it's a tune parents of the past would sing to their children about the myths and legends of Magic. My grandmother sang it to me a lot when I was a little boy…I still remember it, down to the very last word. The beat is the best though." He laughed. "I would share it…but, well, my grandmother asked me before she passed away to only speak the lyrics to a loyal heads or the Red Lion. I still have no idea who the Red Lion is, but I sang the lyrics to Edg-." He stopped, mid-sentence, and then clamped his mouth shut, obviously regretting speaking.

Terra caught it. "To….people you trust?" she whispered, looking down at her hands. "It's okay Locke, I get it." She tried to look supportive and happy. "It's just, I feels like I've heard that song before."

Silence followed. "You know," Locke said, watching ahead. "I hear rumors that Vectorian soldiers have to learn that song, or was it their highest seated power-house soldiers learn it?" she frowned at that. "Well, either way, I think that's a memory trying to touch your mind there. Keep trying to remember it a bit more, maybe it'll come back to you."

"Locke…." She whispered, in a sad voice. He glanced up. "Would…you sing it again? You don't have to say the words…" Locke softly smiled at her as he laid a hand on hers.

"Of course." He began to hum the beat and watched Terra's eye lids drop to concentrate. The thief had this odd feeling…he knew one day this girl, this young abused girl, would play a large role in the recreation of the world. He just knew it and right then, he knew the king would too.

[-]

"Is that it? Is that it?" she chirped, pointing ahead at the circle of stone towers. She jumped up, her hood bouncing on her head. In the center, was a large, stone castle. Pipes popped out of the sides and the top, hissing and spewing smoke out into the air.

They could hear the light hum of something underneath them and around them as they neared the first town, the farthest away from the castle.  
The men dressed in red, blue and black on the tower, laughed and waved at Locke. The thief saluted them with the Figaroian salute and looked at Terra, who had jumped off the Chocobo. The bird chirped and then headed off toward the next tower, where a man was calling it.

Terra had run a hand down the tower and smiled. "It feels like rock, but different."

"Its Bical black stone, or something like that." He chuckled, leading her off. "The whole castle is made of this weird stone the king's great, great, great grandfather found. The king's father actually started to build of the mechanics of the castle."

"Mechanics?" she pondered, following beside him. Her eyes searched around her. "What do you mean?"

"I guess the king could explain…I have no idea what it is, exactly." He sighed, defeated as they stopped before a large, wide door. Two men in red stopped them, holding spears out.

"Halt!" one snapped, but the other paused and smiled upon seeing Locke.

"Ah, it's you! Locke! Haven't seen you in a while. The king is waiting for you in the Throne room. You remember the way, right?" Locke nodded and took Terra hand to lead her through the doors. She held a hand on her hood, trying to keep it pressed against her hair.

"Everyone knows you, don't they?" she whispered as they passed another round of guards. Locke's mouth pulled up into a devious grin.

[-]

Standing before them, offering a block, was four soldiers. They wore a badge that indicated that they were Edgar's personal pick of "personal" body guards. Locke knew Edge for a long time, and he knew that even Edgar wouldn't need personal body guards. He never trained every single day, but he would train, which Locke understood had something to do with a very personal matter he encountered earlier in his life.

The four guards refused to let him pass. Locke crossed his arms, clearly annoyed. "Look, guys," he offered a friendly smile. "I know you are new to your job and all, and your king said not to let anyone pass, but I'm not just anyone!" the soldiers shook their heads.

"We're sorry, but you cannot pass us." The middle man muttered, the man's face still firm. Locke threw his hands up, defeated. Terra tugged on Locke's arm and took him away.

"Can't…well, can't you tell them to tell the king for you?"

"Tried, girly," he smiled at her. "But thanks for the suggestion, made me think about something." He rubbed at his chin and then nudged his head to the soldiers. "Stay here." He turned and hurried back to the soldiers, whispering and pointing back at Terra. His expressions were changing too quickly for her to gain an idea of what was happening. And then, suddenly, the men parted the doorway for Locke and then blocked it again when she made a move toward the door.

She frowned. "Um…" she looked down. "May I please go pass?"

"I'm sorry, m'lady," the middle man replied, deeply sorrow. "Only the other could pass. Please sit, refresh yourself whilst the king decides on the audience."  
She turned and then searched for a sitting spot. To the back, was a large red couch. Two other soldiers were sitting on it. One was passed out, the other was drinking. She sat in the middle, between the two and weakly smiled at the man drinking. His eyes locked onto hers and the hood over her head.

"Hi…" she whispered, shyly.

[-]

"Locke, my dear friend, you finally came to visit? Does this visit cost me….?" The kind king asked as he rose off one of the chairs to the back, sitting papers he had been reading, down on a table beside him. His blue eyes found the thief leaning against the back wall, his fingers rolling a gold coin around.

"Well, well, king," Locke pushed away from the wall effortlessly and then stuck his hands behind his head and walked over. "Is that how you think of a friend?"

"Of course not, Locke. But when a friend is also a thief, I should be worried." He muttered, laying a pen he had in the other hand down. "But I'll make an exception because you happen to be a close friend." The king laughed and then lightly hugged Locke. "What have you've….oh, the serious look, then?" the king sighed, shaking his head as he leaned against the wall with Locke.

The thief nodded. "Very serious, Edgar."

"The letter you sent…you spoke of a girl?"

"Yes, she needs our help. More importantly, I think she might know something that will turn this war around. We could have something to get back at with the Empire."

The king's eyebrows rose in interest. "A _girl_ can provide this?"

"Not just _any_ girl, Edgar!" he said, smiling. "This…this girl, she's something different, altogether. She's so…it's hard to explain, I'll bring her here, but your damn protectors won't let her pass."

Edgar chuckled, softly. "Just tell them my _precious_ rule, which is rule One! They should know the _most important_ by now," he muttered, tired.

"Alright, but we can't keep her too long. She's tired, hungry and thirsty, and I promised her she would get something bloody hot in her stomach."

"Is she that tired?" he asked, looking over at the thief. "Dear lord, Cole, what did you have this girl doing?"

"Nothing!" he protested, crossing his arms. "We had to travel, ya know, and all I could find were small little lizards and a few rabbits. Besides, that girl…she's got an appetite!" his face grew serious again. "Promise me Edgar, you will protect her. She cannot fight or live out there on her own, she can't. Promise me."

Edgar's thoughts shifted into a bigger girl. _Hmm… _"Well then, I guess I promise. I'll make our meeting shorter than I anticipated. Go get her, Cole." He left the wall and headed up to his throne. Locke chortled to himself as he left the throne room. _Definitely Stewart and Christiel's kid…._

[-]

Locke spotted Terra sitting on one of Edgar's fancy waiting couches with two soldiers. One was asleep, the other chatting away with Terra. He could see that Terra was having a difficult time expressing herself or talking…he could see her stuttering. He decided to interrupt before she embarrassed herself or did something to grab the man's attention.

"Terra?" she looked up and smiled.

"Hi Locke," she got up and the drunk soldier frowned. "You were in there for a while…so, what did he say?" she asked, following him toward the throne doors.

"Come back anytime!" called the drunken soldier, grinning sheepishly, his face red. Terra waved to him and nodded. Locke's eyebrow corked up as he nudged her side with his elbow.

"Boyfriend?" she looked up at the thief and frowned.

"What?"  


* * *

  
_Here is the next chapter! Please review! Also, anyone mistakes in here, I would gladly fix. I re-read and couldn't find any, probably 'cause I got tired and my eyes were burning. So, if you spot any, please tell me :)_


	6. Royal Card

_Here is the longer version of the previous meeting up Edgar. I changed the name, hope you guys like it.__ :)  
Note: Oh, and I've started the next chapter (these chapters haven't been written yet, as I stopped to edit the previous ones) last night. I won't know when it will be published, as I would like to re_–_read the chapter and see if its good. I would love it if someone would like to BETA test the next chapter :D_

Chapter: _Royal Card_

The fact that Locke could trust him with the life of...of such a bizarre person meant a lot to him, as friends of course. That damn thief had just stormed up to the castle, knocked the doors open and dragged the poor girl up the steps and demanded that he – a king! – to keep this girl safe from _any_ harm.

He had placed this young girl, before him and laid a hand on her shoulder. She is tall, for a girl. _Rather improper_, he thought as his eyes slowly left his friends to examine the girl beside him. She had pale skin and a head of mint green hair, which to Edgar was pretty, as pretty as hair could get. She had light purple eyes, worn out and tired, most likely from a long journey from wherever she came. She was thin, very thin; the best word to describe her was 'gawky'. She had long legs and was dressed in the darkest reds he's ever seen. Her clothes were imprinted with little flowers, which he recognized as hibiscus, the native flower around Vector. Slowly his eyes left her attire and sat on her face. He wanted to study her, to see her every curve. This is how he worked, not only for women, but this talent allowed him a brief insight into the person whom he was searching.

She was very beautiful, he had to admit it. She had perfectly curved lips, a straight nose – which, to his delight, wasn't too long – and light rosy cheeks. Her lips, he thought, were perfectly red. She had this nervous look about her, yet he could feel this inner power in her. He didn't know what it was...maybe she had debating power? He didn't know...his lips pulled up into a smirk when she started to crumble under his gaze. She started to fidget with the long, purple cape tied to the brown pauldrons on her slim shoulders. She wasn't looking him in the eye, but Locke was. As the seconds went by, Locke shifted and headed over, wrapping an arm around Edgar's shoulders, he turned him around. He started to whisper into the king's ear.

"You mean...this young lady?" Locke nodded, so Edgar turned and gave the young girl a rough looking gaze before he turned his back. She frowned.

"W–who are you...?" he was surprised to hear the dominance in her words. He turned back to her and gave her a very sorry face.

"Oh...my apologies, m'lady!" he took a deep bow and snatched her hand up and placed gentle, warm kisses up and down her hand. "How rude of me to turn my back to such a beauty on our first meeting!" he smiled at her. "I'm Edgar Figaro, the king of Figaro...and you are?"

She bit down on her lower lip before she spoke. "...Terra." Locke smiled.

"I'll see you to later! I have something to take care of." He glared at Edgar. "and you, keep your hands to yourself!" Edgar laid a hand over his heart and nodded his head to him. Terra reached out to Locke, but he already ran off, most likely to steal something.

"It seems you have been left in my care, m'lady." She turned back to him. "So, you're an Imperial soldier, correct?" she nodded slowly. "Don't worry, Figaro and the Empire," to her, it seemed as if he had stressed Empire. "Are allies, so feel free to rest. It's not in mine blood to openly hurt a lady, especially one of the hour." He started to leave, his heavy boots making his leave so much louder in Terra's ears.

"Why...are you being so kind to me?" he froze. "Is it because of my...abilities?" she asked. He could hear hesitation in her voice and almost feel her nervousness. He looked back at her with a handsome grin.

"I'll give you three reasons: First of all, your beauty has captivated me! Second...I'm dying to know if I'm your type, such a beauty shouldn't be left alone! I guess your '_abilities_' would be a distant third."

When no response came, Edgar sighed, his shoulders falling down. It caught Terra's attention. "...? Is something wrong?"

"Hmm...my technique's getting a bit rusty." He laughed, silently. "Well, feel free to explore my castle!" and then he hurried out of throne room.

"I guess...a normal girl would have found him charming," she sighed. _But I'm hardly normal_...

[–]

Terra's hand ran down the old painting of two young boys. They looked completely the same, yet different. One of them had intense eyes, the other gentle eyes. She looked down under the painting and saw the words "Edgar and Sabin". She frowned. "Edgar and Sabin?"

"They are brothers, dear." called an old voice from behind from behind Terra. She turned quickly, startled. "They are twin brothers, to be precise."

"T–twins?"

"Yes, they are similar in appearance, but yet, Sabin was such a sweet young boy. He had his own set of charms, but he was so shy all the time." The old lady was dressed in a long, gray and blue dress, her face wrinkled and her light blue eyes sparkling. She sat down on one of the couches scattered all about Figaro's castle.

"The king has a brother? Locke didn't tell me..." she whispered, looking down. He must not trust me yet.

"It wasn't that young man's secret to keep or break, young lady." Her voice was so stern, so motherly, that Terra quickly looked up. "When you are given a secret, or you know private information you should – especially to a man – you should never divulge that information freely, without the owner's permission. This doesn't only count for men, young lady," she directed it to her. "You want that young man's trust, don't you?" Terra gasped. How did this old lady know so much about her already.

"Y–yes." She hesitated. "I do..."

The old lady patted the spot next to her. "Come, dear, I won't bite." Terra sat down, her eyes on her hands. "Dear, to earn trust, its best to try at it first."

"I...don't know any secrets."

"Hm...I will tell you one, if you can manage to keep it a secret until you are told, then you are a trust worthy friend." Terra became silent as she began the story.

"Ten years ago, the king and Sabin's father had died. He was poisoned, and asked me to give the throne to both boys – Edgar and Sabin. But Sabin had no intention of having the throne. He honestly believed the throne is what caused his father's death and in a way, he was right. Stewart, the boy's father, might be alive if he hadn't taken the throne, yet so many people wouldn't be alive, including the boys themselves."

Terra's eyes widened. "What happened to him?"

"Well, shortly after Stewart's death, I and a few others were told to announce the death to the kingdom and the new heir. When we encountered Sabin and Edgar together and told them, Sabin blamed the throne, us and his brother, for the death of his father. He claimed that we didn't love him and that all we cared for, was the power of the throne." The old lady's eyes misted over. "I loved that young boy as my own, and I still do. Even when he lost the bet..."

"Bet?" Terra asked, confused again. "What bet?"

"Edgar, knowing that his brother would never be happy serving the kingdom, flipped a coin that allowed his brother, his friend, to run away and escape the pressures and responsibility of being king."

"So...Edgar lost on purpose?"

"Edgar is a very kind man; he always tries to do what's best for others. He honestly loves his brother and sacrificed his own freedom to prove it."

"Oh," Terra whispered. "That must...have been really hard."

"It was. I will love those two no matter what; they are the kindest men you will ever meet."

"Has Sabin ever come...back?"

"No, I'm afraid not. It's been ten years and he hasn't even written."

"It must make King Edgar feel so bad."

"He tries to hide it, but Edgar is greatly affected by it..." the old lady stopped when the doors across of the room started to open. She gave Terra a gently smile. "Remember lass, keep it a secret until given permission." She pressed a finger to her lips and then got up slowly. The soldiers came in through the door and started to give reports to the old lady, who hushed them and then hurried through the door herself. Terra sat down, thinking over the secret she was just given.

Maybe I can become a trustworthy friend. She smiled a bit. I will definitely try it!

[–]

"You're telling me the engine room has lost four pipes, Marshal?" Edgar asked, calming. His eyes were tired, betraying the strong suit he tried to keep on. The other man nodded, crossing his arms. He was dirty, apparently trying to fix the pipes in the engine room.

"Yes, m'lord, the pipes...it looks like they've been completely cut through."

"Hmm!" Edgar stood, holding a hand against his head, furious. "Who were the last people to enter the engine room?"

"You, myself, Kennal and Timal."

"Timal...how many times has he gone down there in the past week?" the other man thought back before replying to his sire.

"About five...m'lord, that could have been enough time to saw through the pipes."

"Er! Damn it!" Edgar slammed his hands down the table, his fierce blue eyes burning with rage. "Is there any chance of repairs?"

"Yes, sir. We could repair them, it will take a lot of hands, but it should be done by tomorrow."

"Haste it, Marshal, it needs to be done quickly. Get everyone you can to help, reward them with anything, I do not care. This plan has to succeed, or we will not live long." Marshal nodded and then bowed.

"Yes...m–m'lord?" Edgar paused.

"What?" he asked, tiredly. Marshal pointed behind Edgar. The king turned his head ever so slightly and saw a hesitative Terra at the door way, a blush on her face. She had interrupted a meeting, she knew it, and it sounded very important. She looked away.

"I'm s–sorry, I...I thought Locke was here." She whispered. If Edgar would scream, she would understand...but she wouldn't be able to hold back the tears of humiliation. He turned all the way and then smiled gently as he waved off Marshal. The other man bowed his head lightly to Terra before walking pass her, closing the door.

"Its fine," he muttered, his voice drained of energy. "You don't have to worry, m'lady. So," he smiled at her. "How did you like my castle? I hope it was fitting."

"It...it was very lovely, king Edgar."

"Please," he held a hand up to her. "Please, call me Edgar." He looked over at the door and then back at her. "It's getting late, maybe you should meet up with Locke."

"I...can't find him."

"No problem," he said, happily as he walked over. He offered his arm and she was blatantly confused. "I'll take you to him; I have a pretty fair idea as to where our little thief went."

When he took her arm and folded it around his, she frowned. "Thief? Locke?"

"Yes, yes. Our little friend is a thief. He claims he gathers treasure," Edgar leaned down as they existed the throne room. "but we mustn't let him know we know he steals." He chuckled when she giggled.

"Is that why the guards knew him?"

"Locke's famous, he steals from _everyone_. No one is safe." She laughed again and Edgar patted her hand. "Aw, you have such a beautiful smile!" she gently tugged her arm free and stepped away from him, her eyes watching her feet. His became worried.

"Are you well, m'lady? Or perhaps, did I say something wrong?"

"Some...girls, they told me when you do that, you are unfairly teasing me."

Edgar burst out laughing, holding his side, his eyes a little misty. "Those girls! They foil me not, Miss Terra. I assure you, I _meant_ what I said."

"They said you'd do that too..." She whispered, uncertain whether this is okay to say to a king, one who allows her to stay in his kingdom for protection. His pulled his mouth up into a lope–sided smile. He opened his mouth, but stopped when the doors open and Locke came in, grinning ear to ear.

"Hiya you two, have ya been good while I was gone?" he winked at Terra, she blushed, looking away. Edgar chuckled and came up to him, slapping his back gently.

"Of course I have. I've been a complete gentleman, but you may ask the lady to be sure. But for right now, I think it's best to feed the missus before she faints and then take her to her room, she must be tuckered out!" Terra shifted on her feet.

_I'm right here_..._he could just ask me. _Terra was asked just then if she was hungry or tired, she nodded to both. "Yes...please." Locke wiggled a finger, telling her to follow.

"Alright, we'll get you something to eat first, seeing as I promised that. And then you can rest, for as long as you wish."

[–]

"How is the little lady doing?" Edgar asked Locke as he left the dining room. The thief chuckled, softly, as he opened the door open just a bit.

"Happily, I would say. She must be really hungry, I have no idea how long the Empire kept her under control, or how less they feed her."

"What?" Edgar asked, his intense eyes looking down at Locke. "Control?"

"Oh," Locke sheepishly itched his neck, frowning. "I forgot to mention that part...they put a slave crown on her, Edgar, and from the looks of it, at an early age. She's so...childish."

Edgar's heart quickened. _The slave crown_..._is real?_ "They put that _thing_ on her?" he sounded so outraged, so furious and so sick.

"Yea, she doesn't remember anything, at all. She didn't know animal names, or what flowers are...I think they enclosed her someplace, Edgar." His voice was furious, his hands clenching tightly into balls. Edgar could see his tendons and wouldn't be surprised if they exploded.

Edgar sighed, looking in through the door. Terra was sitting on a tall chair before the dining table, which was shaped weirdly, like a crescent moon. She was sitting in the middle of the crescent, trying to keep the pieces of salted pork on her spoon. He could tell she must have forgotten about forks and spoons, or never used one. He knew the thief had given her "finger food" while traveling. "Did you even show her what the fork and spoon is for?" Edgar asked, dubious.

Locke nodded. "Yea, she is still in the 'exclaiming it', process." He shrugged, looking away. "What do we do now? Arvis told me to bring her here, nothing else."

Edgar rubbed his chin. "We could see Bannon, he would know what to do with her."

"I hope so," he growled, tired. "I would hate it if something happened to her, she doesn't deserve it."

"I agree. After she is done eating and resting, we'll leave Figaro to the Returner's Cave. Make sure she has plenty of rest and pack what you two might need."

"When will we leave, exactly?"

"We will leave tomorrow night, or the next day. We won't leave later than that, Cole."

"Alright then, we'll see ya later then." He opened the door again and walked over to sit with her, smiling. The king rubbed at his eyes.

"Poor girl..."

[–]

"M'lord! M'lord!" Edgar looked up from his papers, annoyed. "Kekfa is here to see you!" Edgar immediately shot up.

"Tell Locke to hide the girl out of sight! Go, go!" he pushed him toward the back door and then fixed his attire and hair.

Edgar was greatly annoyed when he heard of Kefka's untimely appearance at his castle. He hated it when people – well, not charming young women of course! – showed up at his castle with out an invitation or a notice. Kefka had take his rank too seriously. It was high, of course, but nowhere near the amount of an king. If it wasn't for Kefka being the Emperor's first–hand man, well second, Edgar would have had him him thrown out of the kingdom. But Edgar had Figaro and her people to care about, especially now that it held a strange refugee from the Empire itself.

Edgar bowed his head to Kefka, but weakly smiled when Kefka bowed down on his knee. "Your majesty..." Edgar waved a hand at Kefka and sat back on his throne's chair, resting his chin in his hand as he watched Kefka straighten his pose again. "I've come with the most urgent news."

"Really? Well then," Edgar nudged his head toward him. "Continue." Kefka suppressed a snarl.

"The Empire...lost a prisoner."

"And?"

"We lost her–"

"Her? Now Kefka, don't tell me your platoon of big, strong men went and lost a weaker person?"

"Don't play games with me, Edgar." he snarled. "This girl is **very** dangerous!"

"How so?" Edgar asked, rubbing his chin.

"I want to know if she's here, or _has_ been here."

"Kefka...you know as well as everyone else, I don't turn an eye to anyone, especially to women. I don't check who comes in or who comes out. I have more women here than grands of sand! I can't possible keep track of them all." Edgar laughed.

"Edgar!" Kefka stomped his foot.

"Alright, alright...don't blow a gasket, Kefka." he sighed, dramatically. "What does she look like?"

"She's tall, very tall and thin." Edgar nodded.

"That leaves about three hundred more women."

"She is very beautiful–"

"Please, don't lead me off topic, Kefka." he chuckled. "I adore women!"

"Pay attention, you oaf!" He crossed his arms. "She has purple eyes and green hair."

Edgar quickly covered over his gasp with a cough, making Kefka's interested expression fade away. "G–green hair, you say?" he laughed aloud. "Green hair! You expect me to believe there is a girl among our world with green hair _and_ purple eyes? Kefka, I don't appreicate you wasting my time like this–"

"Edgar," he pulled a picture out and held it out. "I'm serious." he flapped the picture about until Edgar snatched it away and glanced at the image. It was of Terra, alright. Her hands were chained together and she was being led into a cage of some sort. Her eyes were so dull. He could see what he assumed, was the crown, on her head.

"...How did you lose her? How dangerous is she?"

"Very." Kefka commented coolly. "She's torc...took out thirty of my men easily. She's great with a sword, but its other abilities you wish to keep away from."

"Like?"

"Let's just say," Kefka smiled. "She likes to see things burn."

"What exactly are you suggesting, Kefka?"

Before the man could answer, a soldier came up and whispered in his ear. Kefka smiled and nodded to Edgar. "Just remember Edgar...she's uncontrollable and very hot–headed. She is dangerous." he left with the rest of his men.

Edgar sighed and leaned back against his chair and took a deep breath. _That young woman...she's dangerous?_ He rubbed his chin. _I can't risk the kingdom...what do I do?_ The door behind him opened and he heard a familiar voice.

"Edgar...we have to help her."

"I know, Cole." he stood and shook his head as he thought. "But you heard him...I don't think Kefka is lying, he needs her."

"Edgar," he growled. "Don't expect me to just toss her out in the wild! She can't defend herself, I've been traveling with her!"

"Cole, calm down. I would never throw a woman out to defend herself – especially against the Empire, no matter how dangerous she is!" he rotated his shoulder blades and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll need you to do me a favor, Cole."

"And what is that, exactly?"

"Tell Theo to ready three birds and at least three weeks, maybe four, of supplies. We'll be heading out bright and early tomorrow morning."

"And what will you do while I'm gone?" He arched an eye brow at Edgar. Edgar scoffed, laying a hand over his heart.

"You hurt me, Cole! I thought you knew me better than that!" he played like he was offended and then turned. "I will go see our lady of the moment. I have a few questions–"

"Edgar...she's doesn't remember anything, don't press her, okay?"

"I won't...after all," he said with a charming smile. "I'm a very gentle man."

[–]

"...and is okay to come out now?" Terra asked, looking out through the secret door to Edgar, who stood smiling.

"Of course, of course. Kefka isn't here anymore, you are safe. Come m'lady, I've a few questions to ask you." he turned and led the way. She frowned, but followed.

When they were seated, Edgar sighed. "So, Locke tells me you're in need of some help and you're hurt? Well, I'll have a nice room and bed ready for you tonight, and as much food as you need." because you are too thin. "You may rest as long as you want, as well."

"...Edgar?" He looked up at her, smiling gently. "It's...it's okay if you don't want me here."

He sighed and leaned forward to take her hand. "Please, m'lady, I would never think such a thing. I do, however, have a few questions. Will you answer them for me?" she nodded, not sure. "Thank you...my first is rather simple...do you know why Kefka wishes to have you so badly?" She shook her head, frowning.

"Alright...do you know why you were in the Empire?" again she shook her head. "Do you remember anything, at all?" she shook her head again and he sighed, tiredly.

"Am...Am I in trouble?" she asked, disappointed.

"No, no of course not." he stood and held a hand out to her. "Come, let's get you to sleep. We have to leave early in the morning."

[–o–]

_Terra! Terra!_ She opened her eyes, yawning. Locke was staring down at her, his face pale. "Get up, Terra! Hurry!" he grabbed her arm and yanked her up. She winced, but asked what was wrong as she searched for her heeled boots.

"What's wrong?" she asked, breathless. He threw her cape at her and a bag of supplies, it was pretty heavy. She grunted at the force and asked again.

"The castle is under attack!"

_What...?  


* * *

_Edgar growled at Kefka as he walked straight up to the king, a sick smile on his face. "What have you've done, Kefka!"

"I told you she was _uncontrollable_."

"What are you talking about?" he demanded, his hands tightened into balls.

Kefka sighed. "The girl...I warned you that if you left her here, she would attack your kingdom. Now look!" He gestured to the flames. "Your kingdom will rot because of it. The girl goes into frenzy when she's asleep! Just give her up already and I'll help put the flames out." he chuckled, but Edgar turned and headed up the stairs and stopped before one of the guards.

"Take her down." he ordered, but nodded to the young man. Kefka watched as Edgar got up on the stone railing of the stone bridge and smiled when he jumped off. Kefka walked over and peaked over the side, hoping for a dead Edgar, but growled when he saw him with some other man...and the girl! The girl he was searching for! He snapped.

"Edgar! You'd leave your precious kingdom behind for a witch that did this!"

The king looked up at Kefka. "I warned you Kefka, not to mess with me." and then he slapped the Chocobo's side and they were off. Edge smiled when he heard the castle sinking into the sand and the shouts of Kefka.

"You did wonderfully, Figaro..." he whispered to himself, grinning as they sped pass the sinking castle.

* * *

_Here is the next chapter! Please review! Also, anyone mistakes in here, I would gladly fix. So, if you spot any, please tell me :)_

_Word Count: 4,557  
_


	7. Fire

_This chapter is one I adapted and edited. Its not supposed to be a "story story" chapter, but one of magical development and a little insight on how Edgar was effected by Sabin's leave. I just wanted to show that while traveling through areas where he normally went with Sabin, brought back painful memories and a bitter attitude...I hope you like it! Please review!_  
Chapter: Fire

The Chocobos slowed to a stop when they couldn't see Figaro anymore, either from it sinking or they traveled faster than they thought. Locke sighed and glanced over at Terra, who was holding onto the giant bird with her life. He laughed, aloud. "You okay, Terra?" she nodded, too afraid to let go. "We're safe now."

She swallowed. "W-was...was that a bad man?" her voice was a little shaken, as she remembered seeing him in one of her dreams. The two young men nodded, but Locke took the chance to reply.

"Yes...he is very evil, Terra. But you don't have to worry," he smiled at her. "we won't let him hurt you." _again_. "We promise, right Edgar?" he stressed the last part as he glared at the young king. He nodded and made his bird move a bit, so he could face them.

"We need to hurry, m'lady. Who knows what beasts Kefka has sent after us." just then they heard a loud hissing sound. They looked around, trying to find the source. Then they heard Terra's shout. They looked toward her and saw she was pointing at the sky. Edgar looked up quickly and swore, reaching for Terra's arm. He swiftly pulled her off the bird and started to drag her away from the poor animal just as a giant, iron missile hit the bird and exploded. The power of it forced the sand to explode around them and created a powerful wind which washed over Terra, who was dangling by her arm beside Edgar. He dropped her and swore as his bird toppled over and knocked him off. He hit the ground with a hard thud and covered his face as sand rained down on him.

Locke couldn't see through the sand, nor could he hear if they were screaming. The sound of the sand was loader than a waterfall! "Terrraaaaaaaaaaa!" he shouted, trying to be louder than the sand. "Terrraaaa!" still nothing. He growled and kicked the sides of his bird. It charged into the sand.

Terra's ears were ringing as she coughed, trying to shrug off all the sand that fell on her. It felt as if the Chocobo had sat on her. She opened her eyes and realized that her legs and a little bit of her torso was buried in the sand. She panicked and started to shout for Locke.

The young king sat up and rubbed at his eyes as the sand was starting to stop. Ten feet away from him, was Terra, buried under sand. He quickly crawled over and started to help her dig her free. He could tell she was scared, her breathing was really loud and her face flushed. He freed one of her legs, trying to hurry so they wouldn't be the victim of the next missile. He freed her last leg and helped her up. She hugged him tightly and thanked him. Their little hug was cut short, Locke shouted:

"WATCH OUT!" Edgar gasped when a giant iron beast appeared behind Terra, holding a large arm above them, ready to strike. He swore and pulled her to the right side of the monster just as the claw of the arm crashed into the sand. When he got up, she started to run and if they weren't facing such a _horrible_ problem, he'd laugh at her, but instead, he joined her sprint. Although, he was amazed at how fast she could run. Again, he wanted to laugh, but the situation did not call for it.

He glanced behind him and saw Locke throwing a boomerang at the glass of the beast. The armor, what Edgar knew was Magitek Armor, tried to take a swipe at Locke, but it missed and Locke ran past it and toward them, herding the last Chochobo along the side of his. He stopped before them, his face pale and his breathing hard. "Get on you two!" he snapped, watching as the Magitek Armor rose his arm and turned toward them, its gears hissing and grinding against each other. Edgar grabbed the second Chocobo and turned to Terra.

"Hurry! Hurry!" he reached for her arm but a giant, red web engulfed her and started to drag her toward the MA. She was kicking around and screaming. Edgar swore and stumbled his hand around for his sword, or maybe even his toolbox. He grabbed the hilt of his sword and unsheathed it as he ran toward the net. Locke growled.

"I'll handle the engines!" Locke shouted, kicking the Chochobo's sides. It galloped off and turned, heading toward the back of the Magitek Armor. The net stopped before the front of the armor. Steam hissed out of the front as the chest opened up to swallow Terra whole. Edgar slashed at the end of the net, cutting it loose. He ripped the web open and helped Terra out. He could see where the web had burned her on impact. He took her arm and pulled her away from the MA and Locke. "Are you okay?" she nodded.

"I-I think so."

"Good! Take the bird and get as far as you can, we'll see you later." She gasped when he pushed her toward the bird. "Go!" he shouted, turning to help Locke fight the MA. Slowly, she backed away, until she turned and ran off to the chocobo. When she made it to the bird, she glanced behind her and saw the arm of the MA hit Locke and throw him at least fifteen feet away. She gasped. Locke! Stop, you're going to get hurt! She watched as he got back up to help Edgar, who was just hit on the shoulders.

He stood on his shaky legs and gripped his dagger. No… she shook her head, holding her hands against her ears, wanting to block it out. No…I can't leave! She gripped her hands and then charged off, running toward the machine beast as fast as she could. Locke gasped when he noticed her, her fast furious and determined.

"No, Terra! Go back!" he tried to run and stop her, but his legs were so weak, he collapsed to the sand. Edgar looked up, holding his shoulder. He wouldn't be able to fight now, he was doomed. He heard Locke's shouts and glanced up weakly to see Terra slide to a stop less than ten feet away from the front of the Magitek Armor. She stretched her arms out confidently in front of her in a straight line, opened her hands and splayed them open, her palms directed at the breast of the armor beast. "Terrraaaa!" Locke screamed as he tried to get back up on his feet.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the chest of the iron beast opened and released a jet of flames upon Terra. Locke's heart stopped, Edgar looked away, avoiding the soon to be charred body. The king closed his eyes, sending a thoughtful prayer of safe journey to her, when he heard Locke's surprised shout of her name. Looking back up, he watched as the flames faded away. Standing in the middle of the faded fire, stood Terra, her arms still outstretched. The fire wasn't fading….the fire was seeping into her hands! Her eyes opened to show they had turned black, her fingers clawed up like she was holding something round in her hands, her arms shook for a few seconds as he lips mouthed something. She took a step forward, her lips mouth faster, her eyes concentrating on the area before her.

All the fire had been eaten…by her? Edgar's eyes saw it, but his mind was racing. Locke gasped at the horrifying scene as Terra neared the iron beast. She placed a hand on the iron surface and closed her eyes, whispering something. Then her eyes snapped open, she shouted. "Fire!"  
And then it happened. Her hands sat on fire and within seconds, the whole machine had sat on fire, engulfed in the fiery hell.

The world Locke and Edgar thought they knew…it was gone, replaced by this demonic image of magic, of the hell the world would be in. And then it hit both of these young men why the Empire needed this girl. She was a magic user, a magician…a witch with the most powerful weapon of them all.

The Magitek Armor melted and melted, leaving a puddle of shimmering liquid on the ground of the desert. Slowly her eyes reverted back the purple they were before; her breathing calmed and her arms fell to the sides of her body. Her legs wobbled beneath her weight and then, when she turned to face the two young men traveling with her, she collapsed.

Locke crawled over to her, whilst Edgar stood, pocketing his bag for a potion. He gave one to Locke when he made it over and knelt down, to examine Terra's unconscious body. When the thief finished off the thick liquid, he dropped the bottle and picked Terra's head up. "Terra?"

"Uhn…huh…." She muttered, still unconscious.

"Terra, come on, wake up!" Locke shook her, but Edgar laid a hand on his shoulder. The thief looked up, worried for the young girl's life. The king shook his head as he got up.

"We need to find shelter and quick, before Kefka sends more of those things out to get us." Locke nodded and picked Terra up. "We'll head to the mountains; we can hide in one of the many caves. We'll be safe until she wakes."

(-;-)

Locke threw some wood into the fire, his eyes watching the fire. He could see what Terra did to that MA replaying in the flames, the heat the fire gave off…fire shouldn't be able to melt iron. No, it wasn't iron or steel…Locke had fought many ironed plated men and even broke a few steel blades before. They were weak enough for a hot enough fire to burn, but the special steel was treated with what he knew from the myths, 'Mythril liquid', a substance that enhances iron, steel and metal to the point where they were considered Mythril. But were the myths about Mas being made that way, real?

If so….it made Terra even more powerful. What he couldn't grasp, was if it were magic, or a relic she had. She is wearing a lot of different beads and things, he thought, glancing over to her sleeping form. Edgar was heading over, with a wet cloth.

"Don't bother with that," Locke muttered, turning his eyes back to the fire. The king looked over his shoulder, confused.

"Why not?"

"Feel her, you'll know what I mean." Following the thief's commands, Edgar was about to place a hand on her chest, right below her neck, when her eyes opened weakly. He jumped back. Locke smiled, rising.

Terra sat up, holding her head. "Uh…uhh…"

"Good to see you joined us, Terra." Locke grinned, kneeling down beside her and Edgar. She looked up, confused.

"W-where are we?"

"Safe," Edgar muttered.

"Safe enough, he means." Locke laughed. "How are you feeling?"

"F-fine, I guess." Locke put a hand on her forehead. "You're hotter than usual. Are you sure?" she nodded, pressing her hands against her head.

"You don't look fine," Edgar admitted, reaching a hand out, he touched her chest, right above the end of her tunic top, above her breasts. She blushed, pushing his hands away. The king was alarmed. "You're…." he stared at her, startled. "you're boiling hot!" she looked down, at her hands while Locke sighed.

"It's just how she is, Edgar."

"That…isn't particularly normal, or healthy!" Locke kicked Edgar. "I mean," the king again turned his stare at Terra. "what you did before, against the Magitek Armor…how did you do that!"

Terra blinked as she stuttered her answer. "I..I-I-I j-just used…I wanted to save you guys." She whispered, timidly. Not sure what she did wrong. Edgar laughed, smiling.

"Do you know what you did, Terra?" she shook her head, Locke gazed down at Edgar.

"What are you getting at?"

"Terra, she used magic! M-A-G-I-C! Magic!" he shouted at the thief, standing.

"Magic? Isn't that just a legend?" he asked, frowning.

"I was told about it so many times," Edgar laughed. "I read about it, the old folk at Figaro talked about it at one point – but never did I think it was real, or that I'd see it in action! And against Mythrilic Machines! That my father had built! They were supposed to be indestructible, but with a touch of her hand, she melted it into a puddle! What power!"

Locke shook his head as he stole a glance toward Terra, she was frowning. "My grandmother told me about magic Edgar…if its real, the only ones who could use magic died off long ago."

"The Mages, I know." He rubbed his chin, glancing down at Terra and at her hair. "Maybe Terra is a Mage, afterall," he leaned down and took a tendril of green hair, she blushed, pulling away.  
"Her hair is green!"

"I don't know," Locke muttered. "Something is off...Terra?"

"I-I...don't know." She admitted, defeated.

Edgar sighed, grabbing her arm, he pulled her up. She winced, but he ignored it, generally focused on the matter at hand. "Terra, what you did was terrifying." She gasped, Locke hissed.

"Edgar, shut the hell up!"

"Be quiet, Cole," he snapped, his eyes flaring with anger. He looked back at Terra. "What you did might be terrifying, but the beauty of it beats out the bad...do you know how special you are, Terra?"

She shook her head. "...special?"

He nodded, playing the leader card. "Yes, special. No normal person can perform such craftery like that, without the use of a relic."

"No...normal person?" she asked, weakly as she took a step back. _I'm the only one? But...But...that memory._ She saw flashes of another man, casting fire. She shook it away. _It was just a dream..._ "Magic..." she sighed.

"Arvis told Locke that you reacted to that Esper. There has to be some sort of relationship between you two..." he rubbed his chin as he walked around the small cave, thinking. He gazed up at her, wanting her to answer. "...no human can do what you did..." he saw her dismayed expression. "Forgive me," he asked, sorry.

"I don't know any more than you do. These powers just come naturally to me." she admitted, looking down at her hands. "I'm sorry..."

"No, we should be apologizing." Locke said, smiling. "We didn't mean to create such a big deal out of it..."

"Cole is correct, I'm sorry. I...its just, you used magic. I've never seen that before...in my life! But, you can use magic,"

"And we can't." Locke finished, laughing. "And that's all there is to it, it doesn't matter to us, right Edgar?" the king nodded.

"But it is special...and we could use your help. Would you like to come along on the journey with us to Banon? Would you be willing to meet our leader? Magic will be the key to winning this war."

"...what should I do?" she begged, desperate for help.

"Come with us, to meet our leader. The Empire will seek you out, along with us. They want your power Terra, and if they get it, the world will be destroyed. If we stick together, we'll be fine." he took her hand, for the first time and gripped it. "Terra, would you like to understand your powers?" she nodded. "Then come with us, to meet our Leader!"

"..." she was confused. What was she suppose to do? If she stayed, she would definitely fall to the Empire's hands, but if she went, she would most likely see more Magitek Armor. She sighed.

"Please...Edgar's right, Terra." Terra smiled and then nodded.

"I'll go...for now."

"Good, good." Edgar laughed. "There is a cave south of here, from there we will head through the Figaro Caves to South Figaro. We can leave after that to make our way through the mountains to the hideout."

"We'll head out tomorrow," Locke muttered, patting Terra's shoulder. "I cooked some soup, if you're hungry." she thanked him kindly.

(-;-)

"So you think she'll be able to summon up that fire again, at will, Cole?" the king asked, cautiously, as he peered behind him. Terra was walking quietly behind them, by five feet. "We could run into more trouble..."

"She isn't here to be used, or our bodyguard." he growled, shaking his head. "we're here to protect her, remember?"

"With that kind of power, she doesn't need us..." he muttered. "and you took what I meant out of context. I'm just curious, is all."

"Well then, keep your curiosity to yourself. Don't pester her with your weird ass questions."

"Science and logical thinking is not 'weird', Cole."

"Weird enough for me, so leave her be." he stomped off, clearly aggravated. The kind king glanced back at Terra and then slowed down, so he could catch her pace. She smiled at him, weakly.

"We should see the cave I talked about soon..." his eyes wondered off, in front of them. A long silence fell, Terra shifted and then paused.

"...and?"

"I want to ask you something."

"Um, we should just hurry-"

"Do you..." he rubbed his chin. "Have you've ever walked around in your sleep?" she corked her eye brows.

"I'm...not sure. Why?"

"Nothing, forget I asked." he hurried on, his posture hard.

By nightfall, a cave opening could be seen in the distance. The distance between them wasn't great, but difficult. Many unsafe hills, slippery grass and the dangerous giant birds the soared high above, ready to swoop one up and eat them. The scenery was beautiful, despite the danger it held. Edgar and Locke spent almost all od the duration of the journey to the cave, discussing future plans.

When they finally arrived at the maw of the cave, Terra smiled. "How much longer until we get to...um, Figaro?"

"South Figaro," Edgar corrected, rather rudely. "Its a quick stop, don't hope for much, okay?" she frowned, clearly hurt by his negative energy. Locke elbowed Edgar in the ribs and then wrapped an arm around her shoulder to lead her to the cave.

"Don't listen to him, he's probably just upset because the women here especially don't listen to his flirts." he laughed. "while we're there, we can see if we can get you suitable clothes for the journey through the mountains. Those clothes are for winter, not summer." he patted her back before entering the cave.

The cave was moist and very hot, and to Terra, smelled like burning animal...although she had no idea how that smelled, she just put them together. She swallowed. It was so dark and the cave was just so small. She could barely breath, or move. She bit her lower lip in an attempt to keep her body from bouncing about nervously. When Locke noticed, he smiled.

"Are you afraid?" he asked, quietly. He knew she wouldn't want Edgar to know...she shook her head.

"Not exactly...I really...can't be in small places." she whispered, Locke thought he heard her crying.

"Well, how about a fire then? I'm sure seeing where you are, will help." he was suggesting her to use her power, she sighed.

"I'm not really in the mood right now..." she replied. "I'm still weak." she timidly laughed. "I'm sorry..."

"Its fine, I've been through this cave a thousands times, so has Edgar...right Edgar?" he shouted to Edgar, who was ahead of them. He shrugged and went through a opening to the right. Terra sighed, crossing her arms.

"He doesn't like me...does he?"

"Who, Edgar?" Locke rubbed his neck. "Nah, he's just a bit upset. I can't really say why, as its not my place to, but I will tell you this cave brings back painful memories to him. Just try not to mess with him, okay?"

"How was I..." she shook her head. "Okay, I'll be quiet."

"Thanks, Terra." he patted her head and then hurried along.

(-;-)

South Figaro was glorious. The tall buildings, the gardens and farms scattered about the plains, the blue sky, the smell of flowers and the ocean...everything was so perfect, so, calm and so beautiful. Litte houses were scattered around the foothills of the mountains, and to the far north, Terra could see the bundle of taller buildings, of South Figaro. She smiled and looked over at Locke.

"That's South Figaro, right?" she whispered, careful not to upset Edgar. He nodded, rolling up a map he had.

"Sure is...if we hurry with what we need out of Figaro-"

"Cole," Edgar uttered, annoyed. "We lost all a week of food and a whole bird."

"We won't need any more birds. We can sell the last two-" Locke was interrupted by Terra's disappointed sigh.

"Aw," Terra pouted, kicking at the grass. She liked the cute birdies. "Why can't we keep them?"

"Because they would get us spotted by enemies," Edgar replied, hotly as he walked over to the two birds. "We can sell the saddles separate, I think. We need as much as food as we can buy." Terra scratched the birds necks before she turned her back to them, clearly upset.

"I still think we should keep them...you never know when we will need them."

"Who gets to walk, then?" Locke asked, coming over to Terra. "This has to be done, at least they won't get attacked, right?" she smiled reluctantly and then nodded.

"Okay then, let's do it." she giggled. "Locke," she whispered to him, grabbing his arm to stop him. "can I get some lighter clothes still...?" she pleaded, pulling at her tunic. He chuckled, looping an arm around her.

"Sure girly, and some new boots. Those things look like they'll fall apart on you!"

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review! :D_


	8. Preparations in South Figaro

**Notes**: To best view the work as best as I saw it, you should use New Times Roman on size 13-14. That is what I wrote this in, both offline and online. I promise, it'll look better in a different font than standard. :)  
Also, this is just a fun little chapter, meant to show the development between the characters. I wanted to make them care for each other more, to grow into friends by spending time together. I hope you guys like it!

Chapter: Preparations in South Figaro

South Figaro was bigger than it looked from before and from a long distance, or at least to Terra it did. She wondered if she had seen this city before, before she went to Narshe and forgot her life, but when she saw all the different groups of people and foods, even clothes she's never seen before, she smiled. No one could forget such a beautiful place of strangers and strange concepts. Everything mixed so well, so beautifully, Terra was at lost for words. She heard Locke talking, but was completely zoned out. A little boy darted past her, holding a teddy bear and calling for his mother. He tripped beside her and she leaned down to help him up, careful so she didn't knock her own hood down. She lifted the boy up and smiled sweetly at him.

The boy cried and ripped his arm away and ran off, hurrying to his mother. Terra sighed and then looked away, trying to spot Locke and Edgar, so she could explain to them how she loved the city, but they were gone. "Locke?" she called out, weakly, turning around. There were so many people, gathering around her, holding their item goods out to her, begging her to buy them or complementing how a piece of jewelry made her look even better! She stepped back, weakly excusing herself from them, but she felt locked in - constricted into a tiny cage. Her head started to throb and her heart tightened up.

One man shoved a little box of relics into her arms, muttering in a strange language she never heard. She shook her head. "N-no, I c-can't!" she tried to get away, but they all wanted her to buy something. Her breathing was getting heavier. "No, I don't have gold, I'm s-sorry." she said to two women begging her for some gold. They grew angry and left, three more filling their spots.

"Please - let me through." she asked, trying to push them out of the way. "Let me through!" she shouted, but her voice wasn't strong enough.

"Alright guys, clear away," growled an angry voice. Emerging from the crowd, Locke grabbed her arm and started to pull her away. She gasped and hugged him tightly. "Why did you head off like that?"

"I...headed off?" she asked, confused.

"We were talking to you one moment and then we turned and looked back and you were gone." he sighed, itching his neck. "You can't run off like that in this big of a city, you could get lost or someone could hurt you."

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "I had no idea I left, I thought...never mind." she shook her head and then shyly reached for his hand. Edgar rolled his eyes, but Locke thought nothing of it and smiled. "So...where do we go now?"

"Well, first we need to get you better clothes. I'm sure the tailor can work something out quickly," he tugged on her cape again. "we'll be heading into the mountains, it'll get hot and then cold, so we'll need the best for ya."

"And then we can finally leave South Figaro," Edgar added, sighing tiredly. "Well, I would like a drink or two, so maybe after that..." he rubbed his chin, thinking. "Alright," he dug through his pouch and gave them each five coins, the best of Figaro gold coins. "Get something for yourselves." Terra giggled, holding the coins close to her chest, but Edgar weakly laughed. "Locke, help Terra and make sure she doesn't waste her money." Terra aw'd and then looked down, holding her coins out to Locke. The thief quickly stole her coins and grinned, wrapping a arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry, she'll spend her coins wisely." Edgar nodded.

"Good, follow me, I think I remember where the shoppe was."

* * *

The tailor smiled as he backed away, grinning at his success. Edgar and Locke had been sitting in the chairs, waiting. They looked up and watched the back door, to the dressing room. The tailor chirped. "Fitted in Vectorian wear and weaved for heat and cold. This outfit isn't torn, ripped or worn out by travel." he bowed his head to the men. "Come out dear. Come on." he looked over at the door and crossed his arms. "I didn't bring out my finest for you to not show everyone, dear. Come on out, or I'll drag you out!" they heard movement.

"okay..." she muttered, stepping out, her left hand holding her arm. Edgar and Locke gasped at the young woman before them, dressed in what they guessed was her favorite color - red. She had a short tunic top, a red skirt to match, long stockings etched with purple-pink laces, arm gloves laced the same and dark, red (and to Edgar - expensive!) heeled boots crowned and decorated with yellow and gold. A long, beautiful dark red and purple cape hung from her shoulders, locked to the newly added clasps to her amethyst necklace. Matching sashes of different thickness and beauty was tied around her slim waist, one which hung the lowest, had beads knitted into it, glittering softly in the house's lighting. And then there was a giant, thick ribbon tied around her hair. The men knew it was the old one, but it looked different. It and the tunic top and skirt, even the gloves, all shared the Vectorian native flower - the hibiscus. The fabric of her clothes looked so soft.

Terra blushed when she noticed they were staring, their mouths practically dragging on the floor and their eyes popped out. Locke grinned and got up, laughing as he touched the clothes. "They feel nice, soft and warm. You won't be too warm, will ya?" she shook her head and explained that it was made from Cockatrice fur and the plant seed they eat, Charybterix fur and brown Chocobo feathers. "it feels really good." he blushed. "and it um...complements your, well, you know." he touched his own breasts and corked his eyes. She blushed and immediately pulled her new cape around her body. He nervously chuckled. "I didn't mean to sound like a pig or something Terra, just trying to say you look pretty." he looked over at the Tailor and Edgar. "Doesn't she, guys?" they nodded and the Tailor took her hand and kissed it several times.

"Very, very beautiful! Fits the clothes as if they were souly made for her own figure!" he kissed her hand again and she giggled. "So very beautiful!" he kissed her hand again. "and very beautiful tasting!" he placed a few more kisses on her hand and both Edgar and Locke growled, pulling him away from Terra when she started to laugh.

"Okay, that's enough." Locke muttered, grabbing Terra hand. "we'll buy them. How much?"

"Three coins."

"Th-three coins!" Edgar growled. "That better be _real_ Cockatrice fur." he snapped. Locke handed the coins to him. "Well, you have a coin left now." Edgar added and immediately saw the sad look on her face. "Alright...a few more coins." he laughed when she smiled and hugged him and Locke. "Thank you Edgar, thank you Locke." she shyly kissed their cheeks and then pulled away to admire the clothes she got. Edgar laughed.

"Okay, now we should head to the weapon or relic shop, we're gonna need to stalk up for the rodents that we'll encounter out in the mountains." Locke said as he counted their coins. "We'll need a few Poison relic rings."

"Amulets is six thousand bronze coins," Edgar added, shaking his head. "we can't afford that. Maybe we can find a few Star Pendants..." Edgar turned for the door. "I'll get the relics, you two go buy our food and the rest of our supplies." he left a small pouch of coins on the table and left in a hurry.

* * *

"Locke," Terra asked as she was given a big bag of food. "why is Edgar acting so...weird?" the thief shrugged and swiftly stole a few loafs of bread when the shop keeper was turned. He shoved them in the bag and winked at her and spotted another place to `buy' their food. He stole a bottle of red liquid and and then a smaller bottle of brown liquid. She frowned at his antics and shook her head when he winked again.

"I need my alcohols and rum, Terra." he muttered, as if that was enough to convince her. "`sides...Edgar is acting weird, glad you notice. Maybe some rum in him will loosen him up a bit, we don't need a stiffy here, ya know?" he chuckled when he swiped another item, this time a box of fine chocolates. He smiled at her as he stuffed it in the bag. "For you." she smiled. She knew he did it to make her keep it a secret from Edgar.

"Is he angry?"

"Er...probably." he allowed the comment and looked around, for anything else he believed he needs or would need in the future.

"...well, is he angry at me?" she asked, following Locke through the crowds. Locke glanced back as he crossed his arms back behind his head.

"No, not at you." Locke replied, in a chirpy voice, as if he found Edgar being angry at a woman funny. "Edgar's just...upset. Its typical Edgar, he's a king. They need the drama."

"There are more kings?" she asked, peaking inside the bag to see what else Locke managed to take.

"Of course," he sounded a little curious about something. "I forgot _you_ forgot about the world," he gently laughed. "that, and you were raised under the kingdom of all other kingdoms. Vector's leader, Gasthal, is a powerhouse over the rest. The other king is currently in a kingdom called Doma. Another just recently died, although he didn't really have a kingdom. He was hangin' out in a place called Zozo after escaping Vector."

"So...is that why he is so angry?"

Locke started to laugh, wrapping a arm around her waist he pulled her closer to him. "You think he's upset because there aren't any more kings?" she nodded. "No...he'll tell you when he's ready." Terra paused and remembered her conversation with the Priestess back in Figaro and sighed. _Will he and Locke ever trust me? Will they ever trust me with a secret? Will they ever trust me...?_

"Locke?" he stopped to look at her. "Do...do you trust me?" he froze, his eyes a little heavy. She could tell he was thinking it over and shifted around, lifting the bag higher. It was a bit top heavy. He swallowed and then took the bag and smiled.

"We should go-"

"Locke..." she grabbed at his arm but he hurried off, asking her to follow him. Terra slowly started after him, the object of her sight was her feet.

She followed him to a Pub with a inn present inside and opened the door for him, because he was holding everything. She guessed it was his way of ignoring her earlier question. He marched up the steps and to the Pub level and spotted Edgar by the counter, getting their rooms and a drink. Locke glanced at Terra. "Hang out with Edgar, I'm gonna go put our stuff away for the night..." they both headed over, but each one was silent, but Terra was flustered. She felt so foolish. She asked him an important question and he flaked out and it only made it worse on her, because she knew his reply. Locke took the key and then left, leaving Terra with another person, who wasn't exactly happy about her right now. Edgar ordered her a glass of light wine and slid it over to her two seats down. She didn't know what to do, so the drink slide down the length of the counter and off the side and into the lap of a man in all black. A large black dog got up and snarled, bearing his teeth at Edgar and Terra.

The king rose and held a hand out toward him, to stop him from advancing on Terra since he stood up rather quickly and glared at her. "She's sorry." was Edgar's quick response, but Terra could hear the annoyance and clear anger in his voice. He's angry at me, she thought weakly as she slowly got up to hid behind him. The man in black gripped his hands. "I'll pay for your drink, really, she's sorry. She's new and can't remember how to act and do things - forgive her, please." Terra swallowed and then avoided the man in black's gaze when he searched her face out. Edgar pocketed eight silver coins out to him. "Just forget this ever happened." Edgar ordered, his hand gripping the coins when the man in black didn't bother to say or do anything. He took a glance at the coins and then back at him.

"I don't want the coins." he snapped, pushing Edgar out of the way, he grabbed Terra by her arm and yanked her out to him. Edgar growled and intercepted the move.

"Let her go," his voice was so furious, so edgy. "I won't repeat myself!" the man in black moved Terra's arm until it was outstretched before him and her back was against his chest. It looked as if Terra was holding something out to Edgar, who stood before them, his face suddenly so dark and angry. Today was not the day to piss him off. The man in black lower his hand and slowly dragged it down her arm and to her waist. She gasped, blushing. Edgar took a step toward him, his hand touching the hilt of his thin sword.

The man in black reached into the small, little sleeve of one of her sashes and took out a small, blue earring. He jingled it before Edgar and then roughly pushed Terra into him. "I want _my_ earring back." he replied, turning away. When the man left the Pub, angrily, Edgar growled and forced Terra to sit down.

"Did you ever see him before?" he snapped, his voice still quiet. Terra hmpf'd him and turned her head in a manner women often used in the times to let the man know they don't have to answer them and that they were better than them. Edgar gripped her arm and she slowly looked over at him, she was getting angry. "Did you see him before!" he shouted, this time everyone in the bar glanced over. Terra yanked her arm free.

"Yes," she admitted. "Locke took something from him earlier."

"Why did you have it!" he hissed, turning away from her to drink his rum.

"Because Locke asked me to keep it..." she muttered, pouting. _I just wanted him to trust me..._

"You could have gotten killed just now!"

"I wasn't though," she smiled at him, hoping that would be enough for him to spare her from his anger. It took a few seconds of him staring at her until he nodded and looked away. "Edgar...?" he looked over at her. "were you angry with me when you were talking with him?"

He laughed, weakly as he poured more rum into his cup. "No," he sighed. "I was angry that he would...that he stepped up to a woman like that." Terra _oh'd _him and then smiled. _Well, at least he's not angry with me...yet._

* * *

Locke yawned and stretched as far as he could and then fell down on the fluffy bed. Terra was watching him in amusement while Edgar started to look for paths to take on the map. When Locke exaggerated his tired state and closed his eyes and started to snore, Terra giggled and came over to poke his face, but the thief didn't budge. She frowned and then stretched his cheeks and lips up until he was smiling. "Locke," she whispered. "are you really asleep?"

"He is," Edgar replied dryly, rubbing the back of his neck. That's how he sleeps when he's at a inn at my expense." she laughed and came over to look at what he was doing. She saw different colored arrows everywhere. She pointed to the green one, running outside of South Figaro and into the mountains and asked what it was.

"That's us," he took her finger gently and made it follow the green line into the mountain. "it shows us the path we are taking now," and then he stopped her finger and dropped to the yellow line leading out of the mountains into a field. "and the path we will take." and then her finger started on a blue line and toward a cave. "and this," he stopped her finger. "is our destination." he was still holding her finger, he noticed the texture of her skin and coughed, letting her finger go as he got up. "you should get some sleep, it is rather late." she smiled at him and then nodded, turning toward the bed. She poked Locke's face again and then pushed him to one side so she could get on. She slid out of her boots and unclasped her cape and then crawled into the warm, fluffy bed.

"Good night Locke," she giggled and patted his forehead, the thief grunted and rolled to his side, his back facing her. She looked up at Edgar. "Good night, Edgar." he nodded to her, a faint smile on his face as she turned away and closed her eyes, tiredly.

"Good night, Terra."

* * *

"We're leaving...?" she asked when Locke woke her up fairly early. He nodded and started to pack their supplies better. He divided the weight into equal piles and then bagged them. "Why this early?"

"We need to go to the weapons shop really quick." he glanced at her sword. "That thing will break on the shells of monsters outside of South Figaro." she oh'd him and got up, reaching for her boots. "Besides, I need a better dagger, my is dull. Haven't had a new one in years."

"Um...Locke?" he looked over at her. "Where...where do I go to clean up?" he pointed to the water basin near the back of the room and the pipe sticking out of the floor.

"There, don't use too much hot water." She nodded and headed over and lifted the lever of the pipe. It started to pour cold water out. When it was full, she picked the bucket up, surprised by the weight, and then gently put it on the washing counter. When she turned to ask him another question, a clothe hit her. She picked it up and then saw Locke's expression - he was laughing. "Dip it in the water. This place has a tube, but to use it, you'd have to wait for pretty boy to get out." so that's why he was in a good mood. He must have teased Edgar. Just then the bathroom door opened and Edgar came out, fully cleaned and dressed. He smiled tenderly at Terra.

"All yours milady." and then he headed further into the room and started to tie his boots on. She thanked him quietly and headed in after lining her boots up besides the door, thinking about how she would get the tube to fill with water.

When the door closed Edgar sighed, waiting about fifteen-twenty minutes before deciding to talk. "Don't mention this to her, at all Cole...but I heard while I was getting our relics, that a murder has escaped into the mountains. We have to keep an eye out, we don't want to run into him."

"Why not?" he asked, finishing packing. "Terra could torch him!"

"We don't need to run into unnecessary trouble, Locke."

"Well, we'd be stopping a murderer at the same time, I'm sure Terra wouldn't mind."

"Mind what?" she asked, coming out of the bathroom. Steam rolled out around her and gently rippled over the ground. She was fully dressed, except she wasn't wearing her boots or her ribbon. Her heeled boots were lined up by the door and the ribbon in her hand with a hairbrush in the other. Edgar glared at Locke and took it upon himself to answer.

"Wouldn't mind caring your share of weight." he muttered, looking back at Locke. "Right, Cole?" the thief nodded and got up.

"You ready, hun?" she smiled and nodded, reaching down for her heeled boots and her neatly folded stockings. He saw her hair and ruffled it around, causing her to playfully push his hands away. "You gonna brush that thing or what?" he asked, laughing at her red face.

"Of course I am!" she muttered, looking into the mirror as she brushed her green locks. Locke turned when she wasn't look and motioned to Edgar, mouthing that they should leave swiftly, before she heard about the murderer. He didn't want her to be upset, or scared. He nodded and stood.

"Make haste, miss Terra." she finished brushing her hair and reached for her ribbon. When she saw Edgar and Locke watching her in the reflection of the mirror, she frowned.

"I'm going as fast as I can...why are you two watching me?" she was getting flustered, as usual. They looked away and she continued, finishing the tie, she reached down for her heeled boots and stockings, slipping her legs into the transparent stockings. She could hear them whispering as she tied her heeled boots on and stood, looking for her thin belt and new sword, which Edgar and Locke picked out before they headed to their room. It was a long, thin sword, made for the left hand and right. It wasn't the greatest sword, but she was told it would protect her against the shelled monsters. She buckled the belt on and then corked at eye brow at the two men who were suddenly quiet. She frowned, crossing her arms. "What's going on, why are you two so...so secretive?"

"Us?" Locke thumbed his chest, ashamed by her question. "I am never secretive, you know that!"

She smiled and then laughed. "Okay, guess I'm just being a bit uneasy. Are we leaving now?" she asked, looking over at the king as he folded the map and stuffed it in one of his pouches. He nodded, grabbing his tool box and his sheath. "I can't wait! Will there be other cities just like South Figaro?" she asked them as they filed out of the room. Locke locked the door and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Of course, and they will be beautiful!"

"Oh, I can't wait!" she chirped. "When we have time, can we come back here again? I didn't have time to walk around...and everything was so pretty." at her question, Locke spared a glance at the King, whose shoulders were tense.

"Um, maybe Terra, maybe. But I know you will just love the mountains. They are great!"

* * *

_Whoo! Someone (you know who you are ^,^) messaged me about chapters that would show more development - although I was already going to do this - so I decided to make it even better! I hope the chapter and up coming ones really make you care for them!_

_Anyways...as always, report errors/grammar mistakes and please review and thank you so much for reading! _

_P.S_

_Yay! 8,000 views! :D_


	9. Traveling Among the Plains

Notes: Another chapter of communication! This one involves traveling to Sabin's little blue house and Edgar's hard moments of remembering him plus all this new stuff! lol

Chapter: Traveling Among the Plains

The mountains could be seen as they left South Figaro's northern entrance, an alley which was basically dead, except to merchants and thieves, was their desired path. When they left the city and found a Chocobo stable nearly a mile or two away from Figaro. Locke had pointed out the stable when they passed to Edgar. The gentle king told them he decided against the giant birds in favor of his Gil.

Although, this meant their trip was delayed by a few more days than the initial plan, Locke and Terra didn't dare to try and change his mind. Although Locke and Terra had wanted to wander about a bit longer - Locke wanting to show Terra around - Edgar decided their next course of action was to leave South Figaro earlier than what they discussed.

Of course Terra didn't mind much, she would get to see so much more of the beautiful world she was so new to. On the way out of the borders of Figaro, Edgar had struck up conversation with Locke about different literature that could be found in South Figaro. He talked about the definition of 'thief' and stories about thieves. Locke listened, even though he knew the king was suggesting that he should learn that he is in fact a thief and not a "Treasure Hunter" or "Adventurer".

Terra found herself giggling when the king would make quick remarks or when Locke would defend himself with some quirky joke about kings. Locke would often look back at Terra during Edgar's discussion of thieves and books, rolling his eyes while mouthing insults or moving his hand to simulate that he was mocking the poor man. The final straw came when Locke stuck his tongue out behind Edgar's back and blew out, which caused Terra to laugh kindheartedly. The king turned back at that point, an amused expression on his elegant face.

"And what is so hilarious, m'dear?" he asked, pausing so they may catch up. Terra smiled weakly and looked away toward Locke, whose face was lit up in amusement. Edgar crossed his arms, tiredly. "Joking about a king behind his back, Cole?" he asked the thief as he started up again. "My presence should be known as important." his stern voice shook Terra, she looked at Locke, to see if they were in trouble. Even he had a dumbstruck face on. And then the king stopped again. "But I'm among friends, aren't I?" Locke sighed as well as their female companion. Terra rose a hand, to get Edgar's attention.

"E-edgar, may I ask something?" he nodded but didn't stop. "When exactly, will we see another town?"

"I can't tell you."

(-)

When they finally made it out of South Figaro's protective borders, Edgar stopped them all for a quick break and a glance at the map. He had taken a precaution by routing alternative routes in case of a problem, luckily they encountered none yet. He glanced over from the map to watch Terra near a small stream, she was brushing her hair. Locke was a few feet away, in the water, his pants pulled up to his knees. He was trying to catch shelled Oglops, a delicious food that is common in Miranda.

Edgar, not knowing Locke had been watching sat in silence to stare at Terra, an odd look on his face. His eyes were so thoughtful, as if he had been thinking over one thing for a long time and only had _this_ moment to clearly explain it to himself. To Locke it looked like he was analyzing her, breaking her down into sections for him to understand. She had cupped her hands and dipped them under the water, to splash against her face; a troubled look appeared on Edgar's face. It looked like someone had punched him in the gut. When she turned around to reach for a drying cloth, he quickly looked away - embarrassed that he had been rudely staring.

Locke coughed and left the water, shaking his legs free of any water, he dropped his pants down again and headed toward Edgar, passing a tender smile at Terra when she looked up to see if he had finished. He winked and then patted her head, as if she were a dog, and then hurried out. She growled a bit but started to comb her again, agitated at Locke for the moment. "Edgar?" the king looked up, rolling the map back into a square. "I need to speak with you. Its about your attitude during our trip." Edgar nodded and followed the thief a little bit further away from Terra, so she couldn't hear them.

"So what about my attitude, Cole?"

"You've been...snapping at her. Why?"

"Did I snap recently?"

"No, you've been snapping at her and-"

"Did I _just _do it?"

"No!" he hissed. "Just please pay attention." he shifted on his feet and stuck his hands into his pockets. "You've been acting very strange since we left Figaro. Why?" Edgar's face darkened as he recalled what Kefka had told him about his "runaway" soldier.  
"_She likes to see things burn._" The king frowned and then rubbed at his eyes, tiredly.

"When Kefka came to visit, he told me...she liked to torch things. He had cut himself off before finishing, but I knew what he meant. And then he made a comment about her liking to see things burn. I've been in an ill state of mind since. I was just thinking about it all, and then having to travel through here brings terrible memories back."

"You think she did that to Figaro? Edgar, that's insane!"

"Cole...that crown could have done something to her. She could have issues. Issues she hasn't worked out yet. She uses fire, and the last time I checked, Kefka's men didn't know magic."

"That's...absurd, Edgar."

"I'm not saying I know it was her, but it could be a possibility. And if it was, I wouldn't hold her to it, because of what happened. But I'm just...a little uneasy around her."

"She's done nothing to wrong you, Edgar." he snapped, waving a hand back at her. "Does she look like the type of person to hurt anyone, let alone a kingdom that took her in?" Edgar followed his hand to the young woman sitting by the streaming, trying to refill her water-skin without falling in herself. She had a tender expression on, one void of annoyance or irritation. Just...content with the moment. But when he looked at her eyes, he could see the depth of her pain oh so clearly and the abuse of so many years.

Hell, if her eyes couldn't tell you, the scars she had would tell the tale. Her pale complexion and gawky figure made him feel so bad, yet...because of all her abuse he knew she endured, she became who she is and who she is was a charming, caring young lady with a heart so big - so hungry for love - that he knew she couldn't harm anyone. But then again...who can control themselves when the effects of the Slave Crown are in play? Sleep walking could bring accidental memories and could cause her to react them. He sighed, looking away.

"I know Cole...but what if she didn't mean to? What if she had been sleep walking?"

For the first time in the conversation, Locke remained silent, confused, he looked back toward Terra.

(-)

The mountains could bee see to the north and northeast. A thin dirt path divided into three ways: left, straight and right. Right led to the mountains, Edgar explained to Terra and left led back to Figaro Castle through the caves. When she asked what was straight, he shrugged. "The sign says The Old Helper."

"Maybe its just a little village" Locke suggested, sharpening his dagger as they waited. "We should check it out. Besides, whoever it is might allow us to stay the night." Edgar glanced up to the sky and saw the sun fading, leaving an orange-pink glow upon them. The king nodded.

"You're right, we should check it out." he turned then to see where Terra had _headed_ off. He sighed when he saw her running ahead of them, through the straight path. "Looks like she has energy to burn."

"Ahaha," Locke grinned, following. "She is a little bit of a runner. You should have seen her after I took her out of Narshe. One night and an antidote and she was running around for days, and it got worse with food in her." the kind king smiled softly as he watched the girl run up to the hill and stopped, to look back at them. She frowned and then waved to them.

"Hurry up!" she called out. "I see a little blue house!" and then she disappeared over the hill, although they could still hear her running. When they made it over the hill, the men smiled when they saw her waiting patiently at the end of the hill. They headed down fast, so she didn't lose patience again. But alas, her patience was limited.

"You can't out run men, Terra." Locke muttered, taking a breather. Edgar was also out of breath. "Its...a jab to our pride." she smiled, giggling as she turned and ran off again. "Oi, that girl never hears me."

(-)

WWhen they caught up again they found her knocking at the door, more than twenty feet ahead of them. She knocked a few times and then waited quietly for the owner to answer. She knocked again and this time the men caught up. Edgar frowned and asked her to step aside. He knocked as hard as he could and waited five minutes. "I doubt anyone is home right now."

Locke grinned and pushed him out of the way, and then started to pick the locks. He pushed the door open and winked at them. "Done. We can leave some Gil behind for whatever we take." Terra peaked inside and then ran in, smiling at the smell of..._what?_ She walked over to the stove and smiled at the brewing liquid. She pointed to it as she looked back at Locke.

"What is this?" she whispered, a bit thrown.

"Tea." Edgar responded before the thief could. He headed over and recognized the tea. "Cinnamon. It...was his favorite." Terra watched as he turned to look at the flowers, his hand touched the pedals and then a frown crossed his face. "These flowers...he always loved them." he dropped the flower and glanced over to his right, at a shelf of dishes. Locke walked over to Terra while Edgar made his way to the shelves.

The thief laid a hand on Terra's shoulder, as if telling her not to say anything that might upset him. Edgar touched one of the blue plates with the white rings and sighed. "These dishes... They're just like the ones he always used!" _He?_ Terra thought._ Does he mean...his brother?_ She was about to tell Edgar when he turned away. "Could..._he_ be living here?"

_He does mean his brother_, she thought, not wanting to interrupt his moment what could be Sabin's home. Locke shook her a bit and pointed outside. "Let's wait outside for a bit, kay?" she nodded and followed him out, closing the door behind her.

(-)

"Locke?" Terra asked as they sat down on the porch, her hands in her lap. Locke glanced over, frowning. "What...back in Figaro, a lady, she...she told me something about Edgar."

"Like?"

"Well...she said he had a brother." Locke's eyes went wide and then he sighed, looking away toward the sky. "Is it true?"

"Of course its true." he muttered. Terra gently gasped at the vehemence in his voice and curled up closer to herself.

"I'm sorry..." she offered, her heart heavy with shame.

"No, no...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap like that. Its just...if you mention that you know this to Edgar before he tells you, you will only anger him and we don't want that."

She nodded, looking away. "I won't say anything."

"Thank you Terra."

"May I ask you something?" he looked over at her, gently. "Do you...trust me?" he sighed. Terra nodded, tiredly. "Do you think you ever can?"

"Its not like that Terra...its just, well...how about we talk about this later, okay?" Terra nodded and got up.

"I'm going to go lay down for a bit..."

"Alright then, goodnight."

* * *

_There goes another friendship chapter lol_

_Review please!_


	10. Ashen Dreams

**Notes:** I got a review asking about the "trust" thing and hopefully I can answer without it giving much away. Okay, I will tell you that Terra thinks it's because he doesn't trust her, and in this case, it's not so. I promise if you keep reading, you'll see what's the problem, well, not a problem, but you'll see. I really don't want to give much away, but if it continues to pester my readers, I'll just say it. :D

Also! Thanks so much for all the reviews, guys! It really means a lot and I'm glad you like it!

Chapter: Ashen Dreams

When morning's light broke through the windows of the little house, the small party awoke and quickly ate what Locke cooked up in a hurry and gathered all their belongings. Terra was left with the duty of leaving the coins on the counter and then to meet up on the hill in front of the house - she had to use the ladies room - but when she stepped out of the little blue house, she saw Edgar and Locke chatting with a very old man, who looked angry. When he turned his head and saw Terra exiting the house, he jumped.

"Another?"

Locke raised his hands, trying to calm him. "We didn't take anything, we swear." Edgar laughed under his breath, but Locke ignored him.

"We just used the stove; we even slept on the floor." Terra came up quietly behind Locke, about five feet behind him to listen.

"We left some coins on the counter. You can check if you want."

The old man puffed out a deep breath and shook his head. "Not my house anyway..." he muttered, crossing his arms. "I suppose I won't mention it to the master of the house." Edgar frowned a bit, and then moved in front of Locke.

"Do you happen to know who lives here?" The kind king waited, and then repeated himself, holding a coin out. The old man scoffed, offended.

"I take two coins, not one." Locke growled, annoyed when Edgar put another coin in his hand and outstretched it to him. The old one chuckled, swiping the coins swiftly.

"Sure do! Left a couple of days ago, as soon as he heard Master Duncan had been killed." He turned away from them to head over to the door. "..Headed up into the mountains! They say Duncan's son Vargas is missing too... I don't like it one bit!" He fiddled with the lock on the door and when he knew it was locked, he turned to the three visitors. "I wouldn't head up those mountains if I were you-" The old man didn't see Locke throwing his hands about behind Terra, trying to tell him to stay silent about it. "-There's a..." The old man stopped, and then smiled. "There are lots of monsters! Best go prepared!"

Edgar and Locke sighed, thanking the man. The thief took Terra's arm and smiled down at her as he led her off, just in case the old man opened his mouth for more discussion.

When they reached the top of the hill, Terra broke into a small sprint ahead of them, leaving a gap long enough to allow the two men to talk amongst themselves privately. Locke was still watching Terra as she ran ahead, still careful about her - after all, this girl could get into some major trouble! When he saw her stop to - what he assumed - catch her breath, he began, noticing the thoughtful look in Edgar's eyes.

"Edgar," The king _hmpf'd_ him without looking over. "I think we need to worry about the murderer in the mountains...if he managed to kill Duncan, then we won't survive."

"I was thinking the same," The king offered the small reply, lost in thought. "We won't take straight paths, I suppose. We'll have to detour on the trail by a long shot. I'm not in the mood to face a murderer..."

"Would you ever be?" Locke asked, rolling his eyes as he shouted out to Terra to wait up. Of course, she waited, but only for a few seconds and then sprinted off again. The thief ran a hand through his sandy-blond hair and smiled.

"I don't think she'll ever run out of energy."

"I suppose not..." His voice seemed off, as if he were talking to someone within his head.

Locke glanced over at the king. "Something big must really be bothering you, Ed...Care to share?"

Edgar nodded, glancing up to see if Terra were ahead of them still. She was in sight.

"I was thinking about Duncan..." Locke paused, worried. "He was the man that taught my brother when he became ill."

"And?"

"He was strong, Cole, and very fast. How could one like him, no matter the age, be easily killed?"

"I'm not sure..." The thief continued on, his eyes searching the grass, his head spinning for an answer. "I never knew there was someone stronger and faster than Duncan, he was a master."

"Exactly." Edgar crossed his arms. "This doesn't make sense, Duncan was skilled. I guess we won't figure it out anytime soon, let us continue this discussion later." His sudden demand didn't bother Locke any, but the thief did get the feeling the king was hiding something. Locke decided to catch up with Terra, leaving Edgar to wallow in whatever it was he was thinking about. When he caught up, he found Terra picking a few flowers. He saw her reaching for a reddish-black flower and stopped her.

"I wouldn't pick that one, if I were you." He smiled down at her when she looked up; surprised they decided to pick up their speed to match hers. Her thin lips dropped into a little frown when she pulled her hand away.

"It's not really a flower," He added, leaning down to examine it thoroughly.

"What do you mean?" she queried, softly, her lilac eyes turning back to the flower.

"Well," Locke picked a twig off the ground and ever so gently, tapped the flower's stem. It shook and dug itself into the ground. Terra heard gentle hissing and backed away from the flower. "It senses close motions and digs itself under, but if enough motion was detected, it would come out and...Well, eat you." He chuckled at her pale face. "They are a lot bigger than that." He heard movement behind him and glanced back to see Edgar heading up over the hill, his face still lost in thought. "We'll talk more about that later..." The thief helped her up and suddenly remembered their last conversation together on the porch of the little blue house. He swallowed, not wanting to hurt the poor girl's feelings. He hadn't meant to...he shook his head and waved to Edgar.

"Hurry it up, king! We don't have all day!" Terra giggled behind him. "Kings." He muttered to Terra. "They think they are so precious." She smiled at Locke, clearly amused by him. When Edgar made it down to them, he corked his eyes at Terra's bright smile, but decided against talking about it. The thief was at his games again, he assumed.

"Since it's early, I might as well explain our new route."

"New...?" Terra questioned, confused. "What happened to the...um, green and yellow lines?" she recalled the map and all the lines she saw. Edgar chortled, amused that she managed to remember that. She seemed too active and excited to remember such things.

"We had to switch plans; a few problems presented themselves to us, M'lady." He looked past Terra and Locke to the trail that led into the mountain and then to the left of them, into the deep forest reaching into the mountain on its steep, bluffs and fissures. "It will be rough, dear; I just thought I should warn you."

Locke came up and wrapped an arm around Terra's shoulders, encouraging her with a brilliant, breezy smile of adventurous lust. "Don't worry Ed, Terra can handle it. Besides," He jabbed a thumb into his chest. "She has a big, strong man to help her." Edgar offered a chuckle at his statement.

"Oh, you assumed I'd agree with that, Cole? I'm sure if she were fighting an ant, you'd do." Terra started to laugh when she saw Locke blush. The thief punched Edgar's arm much like a brother would.

"Shut up king, at least I know my way around the wilderness-"

"-And around a locked door as well." The sand king commented, looking over at Terra with a goofy expression on his face. This time, Terra and Edgar laughed. Locke smiled.

"It's better than your outlet." The king blushed and was suddenly thankful for Terra's lack of understandings.

* * *

When the sun started to weaken through the thick treetops and began to darken the woods, Locke pulled Terra to the side of their little party. "Look, we're gonna rest for a bit. I'm gonna go out and look for some proper wood to burn." _And scout the area_. "Promise me you'll listen to Edgar while I'm gone?" Terra didn't want to, but she smiled and nodded to the kind young man.

"I will...promise."

"Good, I'll be back as fast as I can." The thief ruffled her hair and laughed when she pushed his hands away. "Be good." He said before he started off into the woods. Terra glanced over at Edgar and chewed her bottom lip. She hadn't been alone with him before, it was frustrating. She slowly came to stand next to him while he rolled the map out again, this time figuring out a new route to take. She watched for a few moments before she collapsed next to him in boredom.

Studying the map was the easier part for Edgar, but the constant "huh" and "hmmm" from Terra was starting to bug him. He glanced up and saw her resting her chin in her palms, watching the map.

"Bored, m'dear?" She looked up rather fast, but nodded. "Well, I'll need silence to think right..."

"Oh." She muttered, looking away, and smiled. "I could go look for Locke-"

"Locke told you to stay, young lady." After about what seemed like hours, she puffed out a breath and stuck her tongue out at Edgar when he wasn't looking, then got up to head over to an opening in the trees. She could see the vast field before them that went past South Figaro. She rested her hand against the surface of the tree nearest of her and leaned forward over the slope and gazed down at the under pass of trees and rocks that poked out of the side of the slope, making jagged turns down toward the field below, where she could see some deer and various other habitats enjoying the field's variety of food.

She closed her eyes and then slowly rested her head against the tree's bark. She couldn't help but feel like Locke and Edgar were hiding something from her, and being in this odd, thick forest of looming pines echoed that feel and intensified it. Although, she was grateful for the distraction the scent of the forest brought to her. It was so beautiful, so full of life and energy. She had only been in the forest for a little while, yet it had easily grown on her. Something about the mystic cool air, the scent of pine cones, fresh water and flowers made that alone feeling she had, grow weaker, even if it were for the smallest of minutes.

She recalled her earlier thought about going out to find Locke and sighed. It had to have at least been an hour ago that he left to gather sticks. Something was wrong, how could gathering sticks take this long? She could literally move ten feet and find hundreds of them. She reluctantly gave up the "Locke needs help" thought and leaned against the tree with all her weight. Her stomach growled and she blushed, hoping Edgar - a king! - did not hear. She looked over and saw him watching the map. _I'm rather hungry...maybe Locke does needs some help._

"Edgar...?" The king sighed and glanced up. "I think we should go look for Locke."

The king paused and then rolled his map up, sighing. "Cole is just fine, M'lady."

"I know, but maybe..." she started to fidget. "M-maybe we could still look for him."

"Terra." Edgar rubbed at his neck as he rose. "Locke said he'd be back. He has done this a thousand times before. Actually, he does it every day of his life. Relax, he'll be fine."

"I'm...not sure of that." she whispered, defeated. "Can we at least go out and gather some," she recalled the berries Locke found for her on their earlier journey. "Blueberries?" Edgar slowly smiled and nodded.

He knew why she wanted to go out looking for blueberries, but he would not fault her or deny her. He couldn't say no to pretty women anyway!

"Sure, but you stay close to me, okay?" she nodded and then turned, running off, laughing softly. Edgar started to follow, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

* * *

Locke bent down to touch the loose dirt and crushed twigs. His ran his fingers over the odd imprint in the soil and frowned. _It weighs too much to be a panther, but the print is definitely panther_. He rubbed his chin. _This isn't good, something is wrong here._ An image of the Magitek Armor flashed in his head, but he immediately dismissed it. _The print wasn't pushed in enough for it to have that kind of weight._ Locke stood and scanned the area. He couldn't see anything else and decided to just gather the sticks and head back to the campsite.

Just as he pushed past one of the trees surrounding where he left Terra and Edgar, a flash of green ran into him and fell to the ground. Locke nearly tumbled over, but grabbed a tree and shut his mouth before he swore aloud. He steadied himself and saw Terra getting up, frowning. "Terra?" She glanced up, and smiled weakly.

"Hi Locke-" she tried to say, but he stopped her.

"What are you doing running about?" he asked, helping her up. "I thought I told you to stay with Edgar."

"I did. I...um saw you heading up." He sighed, accepting her answer and walked past her. When Locke saw Edgar looking over the plain, a small basket of blueberries by his feet, he dropped the sticks into a pile and headed over, crossing his arms.

"We have a problem..."

"What kind?" the king merely asked, coming off as he if wasn't worried.

"Weird tracks - they aren't animal, or beast."

"Hmm...Alright, we'll stop for a meal and then we'll head off. We can't be here long." he pointed to the field and in the far off distance, smoke could be seen. "They are heading up this very field. We don't have long...make sure she eats enough so we don't have to stop again." He turned away and headed toward their supplies.

Gathering around the small fire, Locke handed some cooked meat to his two teammates. Terra chewed hers slowly, obviously thinking about something. Edgar ate his in a hurry while Locke savored his. Why were they so quiet? Lunchtime was for talking! He decided to start the conversation.

"So, Terra," She paused to look up at him. "Remember anything yet?" She shook her head at the thief.

"No...But I have a feeling I've tasted this before." She pouted and then started to eat again.

_Dang, no one wants to talk_. Locke sighed, finishing his piece.

"Ed? Find a route yet?"

"Aye, I did." He had said it rather quickly and went back to whatever it was he was doing.

Locke rolled his eyes and fell onto his back, deciding to give up. "Forget it; it's like talking to walls." Edgar wasn't paying attention, neither was Terra.

* * *

By the time they were done, Locke had everything packed and in their bags again. He divided the weight again, helped Terra with hers, and then turned to talk with Edgar about their new course. The conversation, to Terra, seemed heated. Locke made an angry face to Edgar when he muttered something - which Terra guessed was only two words.

She watched in silence, making sure they didn't notice that she had been watching. Something was wrong. She's never really seen them fight, it was an odd sight. She thought Locke was so...laid back. She began to wonder what made them so angry, but decided against. She didn't want to make it worse...but she couldn't help but think it included her anyway. She glanced over weakly again and sighed at the sight.

"Cole, we're not telling her."

"And what if she figures it out? We'd be strung up by our feet!"

"You think she'd do that?"

"I don't mean physically," Locke muttered, crossing his arms. "She has a way of making you feel that way by just a look." His voice was silent as if he couldn't bear seeing her hurt or confused. Edgar nodded, not quite sure of that feeling, but he trusted it. Sometimes, he could feel the pain she felt by just her eyes. He described it to himself as one of those few people who could express everything without one word, only using their eyes.

"But you wouldn't want to worry her, Cole that would just hurt you more."

"But...but what if we run into this dude and something happens to her? I will not forgive myself if something happens." Edgar patted Locke's shoulder, clearly knowing why.

"Don't worry Cole, she'll be fine." He nodded, not really assured, but trying to believe, or at least look like he did. "Good, now look alive, she's been watching us." Edgar muttered, a sly grin on when he glanced over at Terra, who had just looked back up. She saw the sudden change in demeanor and tried to smile, or build a convincing one, at them. Locke waved to her and then looked back at Edgar.

"We must have tipped her off for _something_." The king commented, trying to put an appropriate look on just for her, to calm her. Locke left Edgar's side, getting the silent command from him very easily.

Terra felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Locke's hazel-gray eyes. She put an earnest warm smile on for him.

"Is something wrong, Terra? You look a bit worried."

"Oh, I'm fine." she whispered, looking away, she took a deep breath.

"No...I was w-wondering when we would reach the mountains." Locke _oh'd_ her.

"In a few, or at least we'll be further into the border of the mountains. I'd say it'll about tomorrow afternoon when we reach the caves."

"Caves?" she asked, worried. She remembered the South Figaro caves and grimaced, swallowing back the uncomfortable feeling she got from the memory. "Can't we...go around?"

"No." He said with a light chuckle. She smiled at him, grateful for his warm, light-hearted laugh that made her heart stop aching the way it always did. When he caught sight of her innocent stare, he corked an eyebrow.

"Do I have something on my face?" she blushed and then hurried ahead, her heart racing. Locke scratched his neck and then shrugged, catching up.

Locke had stopped the group when nightfall came; his own legs were starting to go numb! He called them into a group and explained that the area had many monsters that they should be careful about, the worse being a Tusker and bears. When Locke finished and was about to ask Edgar if he still had the smoke bombs he bought a while ago - before Terra - but the young woman raised a hand, shyly. Locke turned, smiling.

"What's wrong?"

"I have a question..." He nodded, telling her to continue. "What's...a Tusker?" Edgar tried to keep his chuckle quiet for the sake of courtesy and manners, but he couldn't help himself. Terra frowned; deciding to ignore the king's laughter, but her spirits fell when Locke let a little bit of laughter escape his lips too. She felt like running off into the woods, she knew her cheeks turned red.

"A Tusker is a large, hairy monster with huge, sharp tusks. We call them 'Tuskers' because they use the tusks to bash down trees for their meals."

"T-they don't eat people, do they?" Locke shook his head and wrapped an arm around her to bring her close.

"Of course not! Although, they do - when threatened - attack and kill people." Her face went pale.

"But you don't have to worry, that usually only happens when some rich guy," he jabbed a thumb behind him at Edgar, "Wants a nice, new, fur coat." He leaned down to whisper in her ear, an impish grin on.

"Better ask him if he's gonna do that, so we can hide." She swallowed a rising lump in her throat and casted Edgar the most worried look he had ever seen. The king had no idea what that stupid thief said, but he had a feeling it was one of his usual games.

When the fire was up and roaring with life, they gathered around it for Locke's special Fish Gut Soup. They all ate in silence, Locke admiring the stars, Edgar eating and looking at a map in the firelight and Terra thinking about everything. Her biggest thought revolved around her memories and she was beginning to think that it would never return. A soft, tired sigh escaped her lips; catching the males' attention swiftly. Edgar was about to ask her what was wrong, but he caught the hand movement of Locke waving it away. The king watched Locke's lips closer as they moved. He was a bit surprised when he understood what he had said. _Why leave her alone?_ Obviously, something was bothering her.

Terra put her bowl down when she was done and said she was tired, so she was heading to bed. Locke wished her a good night, but Edgar got up. "Is something wrong, m'dear?"

She paused and then shook her head and walked away. When she was out of earshot, Edgar glanced over at the thief. "Why didn't you say something? I'm sure she would have told _you_, Cole."

"Look Edgar," Locke's voice was firm, a tone he usually never had unless serious. "She's clearly upset that she hasn't remembered anything yet, okay? Pressing the issue will only make her realize how long it's been and nothing has come to mind. So just drop it." Edgar crossed his arms and leaned back.

"You shouldn't encourage that feeling."

"I'm not encouraging anything, Ed, I've seen this before. Trying to force it will only make it worse-"

"Cole, I assure you-" Edgar knew of what situation the thief was referring to.

"Just drop it!" He barked, getting up to leave the fireplace's warmth. _What just happened?_ Edgar pondered as he got up to feed the fire.

* * *

_Terra could see the smoldering towns from her perch in the Magitek Armor, her left hand on the lever and her right firmly placed in an odd, glowing hole meant for the magic port. She could smell the burning odor of flesh, wood, hay and the thick, rusty smell of blood. Through the pilot's window, she saw a man trying to defend himself against her only to have one of the large, Magitek arms smash him into the ground, his body practically dissolved from the weight and speed of the dropping, iron arm. She felt her stomach swirl, the bile built up in her throat and the tears that ran down her cheeks._

_She watched in terror as the driver of the suit smashed its fist through a house and then splayed its hand open to spread fire upon the debris, killing whoever was in it. She sobbed when she heard the children screeching inside, the dogs barking at their masters, trying to warn the owners inside the other houses that hadn't been attacked yet._

_The iron suit turned to follow the dirt path down the village, Imperial soldiers ran past her, throwing spears, stabbing and kicking whoever stood in their way. Others threw balls of fire in through the windows; others dragged the girls out of their homes and forced them into a carriage for enslavement while she, the driver, continued with torching the houses. How could someone order another to kill, to senselessly cause harm, draw blood and wreak havoc? How could she do this? How could she be this monstrous? She started to sob, but she knew no matter what she did, she could not stop herself from destroying these people and their homes. _

* * *

Thank you for reading! Please enjoy the read! Review if you want, I'd love to see more, but don't let me push you into something! Thanks again!

Thanks to "AbsolutelyYuki" for helping with grammar and parts of the story. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and experienced no errors! :D


	11. Lion's Paw

Chapter 11: Lion's Paw

Terra woke with tears in her eyes. She was lying under a tall tree with wide branches. The fire was popping a few feet away from her, dying off from hunger. She sat up and saw that Locke and Edgar were hunched over the map. Locke had some mud smeared on his cheek and a long, thin cut underneath. She rubbed at her eyes as she got up and fixed her hair. When she was finished, she headed over, hungry.

"Is something wrong?" she asked as she leaned down. Edgar shook his head, but Locke talked.

"I ran into some soldiers a few hours south. If we don't want to get caught, we need to go. But we're trying to figure out if they could possibly hide more men someplace. It would be a trouble if we ran into an ambush…"

Edgar aw'd and jammed his index finger into a spot in the map. "A trail my father took me on a few times…only Figaro Royalty knows of the trail." He looked up. "We should make haste; the trail leads into the mountains' rocky paths, so it'll take some time to put space between us and the soldiers." When Edgar started to pack, Locke got up to put the fire out. Terra walked beside him, frowning.

"Locke…can't we eat first?"

"I'm sorry Terra, they have hounds. They could smell it out. No food until we're safely ahead."

"Not even an apple?" she begged. He chuckled and dug through his food back and placed a nice, red apple in her hands. "Thank you Locke!" she chirped, turning to pack her own stuff.

With everything packed, the gang headed onward with their journey once more. As they went, Locke spotted evidence of the beast he found tracks of earlier and grew wry. He had never seen prints like that before; they were too large, too thin and way to heavy. He hoped it wasn't a suit of Magitek, because if it were, he doubted they would survive, unless Terra could summon up those beautiful flames again. He realized then, that they didn't question her about that skill and was about to, before he sighed and crossed his arms. Her reaction, or rather theirs, when they found out she could use magic, must have drawn a clear picture of their feelings about her abilities and she would most likely feel reluctant to use it.

He glanced over, trying to steal a look at the young woman they traveled with and saw her along the outer limit of their little pack and corked an eye brow. Ever since he met her, she always stayed so far from him, or the group. She was so reluctant to join the group and whenever she did, he noticed her apprehension and as soon as she got away, saw a breath of relief escape her lips. He could tell that getting her to help, even if she wanted to, would be difficult, so he'd try and make sure they didn't cross the path of whatever it was that made those marks.

But it got harder to do as they ventured deeper into the mountainous woods of Mt. Kolts, a hideously tall, dangerous, mountain full of evil monsters and escapee thieves. He didn't want to say anything to Edgar, because if he had told the king about the more frequent tracks of the beast, he'd have to switch their plan over again, which meant delaying their trip for days more than they already have. Telling Edgar would cause problems for him, and endanger Terra, so he kept it secret.

As they passed an opening ledge that pointed toward the field miles and miles away, Locke stopped the group. He took the first steps on the ledge to test it and then nodded to the others. Terra shook her head and stepped back. Locke glanced back. "Terra? Don't you want to see the view?" she shook her head again and then Locke laughed, elbowing Edgar's side gently, he whispered something to the king. A small smirk appeared on the king's face. "Yes….yup."

Edgar turned to Terra. "Are you afraid, m'dear?" she frowned and looked over at Locke. "That's both completely fine and normal, m'lady. You mustn't fear I shan't be one of the devils to force you on these cliffs, nor will Cole, right?" he nodded. "You may wait there, if you want." She nodded again and Edgar turned to observe the horizon. Locke crossed his arms as he sought out anything of particular in the horizon.

Should he keep it from Edgar? Edgar not knowing could be their downfall, but what if he changed course again? No, he'd have to make Edgar stay on course. "Edgar, we've got another bucket of trouble."

"Whatever do you mean, Cole?" he asked, also looking out.

"Those tracks the other day…they are everywhere. Whatever it is must live close by."

"And you lacked the intelligence of mentioning this before…why?" he demanded, and from his unusually calm voice, Locke knew he was furious. He did commit a wrong, against a King. And even though Edgar and Locke considered each other the closest of closest friends, maybe even brothers, Edgar was still a king and you shouldn't keep secrets. Locke blushed from embarrassment of forgetting. He itched his neck, sheepishly.

"I was scared you'd switch courses again…"

"So you endangered us all?" he sighed, rolling his eyes. "Nothing new I guess, you like your secrets, Cole. I mustn't try and change you…so, where do we sit now?"

"Well, the last two I found were really fresh, like they were made this morning. Whatever it is must be a little bit more into the mountains, about an hour or two, depending on our speed. We need to be careful; I've no idea what it is. I know it's not Magitek."

"Alright, we'll keep an eye out - especially on Terra." Edgar added, knowing that Locke would let Terra stray a bit out of their pack. "We need to go." With that he turned with a flourish of his deep cape and walked pass Terra. She gave him a look that told him she had heard everything, but he shook his head. No, they were too far away and they were whispering.

When they started on again, Locke led them through the thickets of the forest until pebbles, rocks and large boulders started to litter their path. Terra noticed the increase in the steepness of the forest as they went on and peered up through the trees ahead of her. She could see mountain peaks. Were they already on one? No wonder she felt so sick….they must have been on a mountain peak! She shuddered and then glanced over her shoulder at the downhill drop and frowned. They were, but how high were they going to need to go before they could actually get into the mountains safely? She hurried up to Locke, careful not to trip over a rock and tumble all the way down.

When she managed to catch up and asked, Locked shrugged. "Until I think we're safely ahead of the Empire, but I think it's safe to say once we're on that," he pointed to the mountain ridge ahead of them, maybe about an hour minute walk. "We'll be in Mount Kolts."

"Does Mount Kolts have people and shops too?" she asked, looking at her traveling companion.

Locke chuckled a bit. "No, not up in this dangerous place! Too many monsters, they wouldn't be able to build here and keep the town safe. Merchants however, come through here after taking a boat from the Northwest. They travel for weeks through the west part of the mountain until they end up south and eventually into the fields going to South Figaro. They import goods without Figaro Taxes on them."

Terra oh'd, not quite sure the information was helpful to her. "Is that…bad?"

"Yes, it's bad." Locke wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It's like doubly stealing from the Figaro Crown and Country. They make tons of profits on their goods and don't get taxed, meaning they get a lot of Gil." Locke pointed to Edgar. "Edgar isn't too fond of it, and…I'm not either. Figaro taxes are incredibly stable and fair, enough so that even I could manage to pay it. The country is basically suffering from the loss. Occasionally Doma will help Ed out a bit though."

"So…we won't run into anyone up here?"

"It's very unlikely…" Locke rubbed his neck. "But we could run into a few bandits here and there, they escape up here from South Figaro guards. They shouldn't be that much of a threat if we turn the other cheek to them – if we see them."

She decided to press it. "So, we won't meet anyone at all besides the bandits?" Locke sensed her disturbance and frowned.

"What's exactly bothering you Terra?" she crossed her arms and then walked ahead, annoyed that Locke wasn't going to tell her what she overhead earlier.

Rounding the last, steep hill, Terra spotted a wide cave opening and sighed as Locke came up beside her and grinned. "We're finally in Mt. Kolts!" he looked down at Terra. "Not much longer!" and then he started off, Edgar following to the far right. She started in a line behind the two when she noticed a shadow on one of the ledges high above the cave opening. She narrowed her eyes and gasped, running ahead and into Locke. The thief fell, but caught his balance and then grabbed Terra before she collided with the rocky ground. "Terra, what has gotten into you?"

"T-There….up there!" she pointed to the ledges and the shadow was gone. _Huh? _

"I don't see a thing!" Locke muttered, looking at Edgar for support. The king stared at the spot for a few seconds before lowering his gaze to Terra.

"Maybe the sun has made you ill, m'dear."

"No, no! It…something was there! I saw it!" she frowned and looked up at the spot again. "It...It was standing there!"

"Terra," Locke laid a hand on her shoulder. "If you need to rest, we'll take a stop."

"No." she replied quickly. "I-I can keep going." She didn't want to be in these mountains much longer, not with a monstrous shadow following them! Locke asked if she were sure. "Yes, I'm sure…maybe I am tired." She knew that wasn't it, she saw something. But she'd stay alert! Locke helped her into the cave then, with Edgar ahead of them.

Once inside, they followed a narrow path through several chambers until they met up in a large, circle cave. Locke spotted the pitfalls and loose ground before Edgar stepped forward. "Ed, wait." The king immediately paused, his foot just inches away from some of the loose ground. Terra was behind Locke and glanced over to her right to see another opening. She snuck over, testing the ground first and saw a bridge. She smiled.

"Guys, I found a bridge!" Locke tensed up when he turned and saw, but Edgar smiled, heading over.

"Good find, Terra!" he laid a hand on her shoulder. "I daresay you've got an eye for this. Maybe you'll surpass Locke…?" she smiled at that, but it quickly faded when she saw Locke's expression. The thief strode pass her and then hesitantly got onto the bridge. To Terra, it seemed like he ran across, so following his example, she jolted across, running pass Edgar, who nearly toppled over the edge. He grabbed the sides and then shook his head when he saw Terra reach the end, turning to him with a goofy, shy smile of apologies.

Once the trio managed to safely cross the bridges inside the cave they reached a rather large room, with an odd step up ground. There was a large hole in the ceiling, where the sun just poured gently into the room. It was a giant room, so Terra wandered off from the pack to investigate. As she rounded one of the sides, she saw a weird bed of hay bundled up into a neat pile. It looked and smelled, fresh. Looking across from that, she saw a handmade bow out of ropes, branches and vines she saw around the forest. Peaking inside the basket, she noticed fresh berries. She reached down to take one, not to eat, but to test to see if they were really fresh, but someone touched her shoulder and she jumped and turned around, quickly unsheathing her new sword. Reflexes made her drop the sword just below the neck of her enemy. She gasped when she recognized the face of Edgar. "I'm so sorry!" she blurted, putting the weapon away. "Y-you scared me, I didn't mean to—"

"You're rather talented with that, lass." He smirked at that. "All is fine, you didn't draw blood." Thank gods. "Why did you run off?" he glanced behind her and saw the evidence of someone living here and frowned. His eyes darkened as he told Terra that they needed to go. Hurriedly, she ran away, finding Locke at the back of the room, looking out the last cave opening they could see. Sunlight was shining down the ledges that took on the appearance of a carved out path. They could see sad attempts of railings that were crafted onto weak, rotten wood that was maybe hundreds of years old. The path was rocky, pretty straight, but steep. Any wrong movement could send a person rolling, to their death.

Broken pieces of rock that fell from the above cliffs decorated the pathway as well as skeletons of passed travelers who just couldn't make it from either the wild conditions they were unready for, or the poisonous beasts that roamed freely.

Before they advanced on, Locke stopped them and silently whispered as he pointed ahead, to a man kneeling over a skeleton dressed in riches. "Bandit." He looked over at Edgar. "He might have friends, if we go rushing in, he could trigger some kind of call to the others."

Edgar rubbed his chin, but smiled. "I think I may just have what we need, Cole." He reached into a pouch he had to his right and pulled out a small box just a little bigger than his hand opened. He put his sword handle against the box and pressed the gray button. The box hissed and then, quicker than Terra could see, transformed his entire sword. It took on the sharp of an automatic bow. Terra could see the other sword he bought in South Figaro on his left hip.

Edgar aimed the weapon toward the man, looked through the little scope and gently put his finger on the trigger, but Terra stopped him. "What is that?" she asked, amazed. "How did you do that? You said you couldn't do magic." Her sense of helpless confusion got to the two men, they both laughed. Edgar lowered his weapon to answer her.

"It's called 'Tools' Terra. It's a machine that I built to help me in battle….specially against monsters that are a little too tough for sword combat. It transforms according to the button I press. I assure you, it is not magic."

"But…but you made it do that...thing."

"Yes, it transformed." He answered, again.

"That's magic, isn't it?"

Locke's laughter boomed, but before he could stop his loud laughter, it rang through the pathway and caused the bandit to look up, gasping. Edgar swore and lifted the weapon. He aimed as the man was running down the pathway. "No, wait—" Terra tried to stop him, but Edgar growled and aimed. _Come on…don't let this miss!_ He pressed the trigger and a cloud of arrows descended on the man, killing him instantly. Terra closed her eyes when she saw the arrows fall. Locke whistled in relief.

"Good shot, Ed."

"We should clean him up." Edgar suggested. "One of his comrades could find him."

Terra swallowed back the need to scream at them for showing little care that they just killed someone. "Didn't you ever think he wouldn't have done something to us!" she shouted, pushing pass them to hurry down the trail. The two men were stunned. She never blew up like that before…

Locke ran to catch up with Terra, but when he turned around the side of the path, he couldn't see her. He glanced about, worried. "Terra?" he shouted once, and then two times. He ran down the path, not waiting for Edgar and circled around the next turn. She still wasn't there. "Terra?" He turned to see Edgar finally joining him.

"What's wrong?"

"Terra, she ran off! I can't find her!"

"Calm down, Cole, the girl is perfectly capable—" just then they heard loud booming sounds and Edgar paused midsentence.

"Perfectly capable, huh?" and then Locke jumped into a run down the hill. When Locke managed around the curve of the hill, he heard Terra shout to stop but before he could stop his body, a tall, tanned man with a giant muscled body turned toward him – looking away from Terra – and smashed his curled fist into Locke's stomach. The poor thief coughed and fell to his knees, his pain was masking his need to glance up at Terra.

The muscled man leaned down and effortlessly lifted Locke up by his throat and turned back to Terra. "You…Sabin must have sent you, didn't he?" he asked her and when she didn't reply, he tightened his grasp around the thief's throat. Terra gasped.

"N-no! We're just traveling through, I promise—"

"Sabin?" Terra and the giant man turned to see Edgar standing about ten feet behind him, sword in hand. His expression was startled. "Sabin? Is he here?"

The muscled man threw Locke at Edgar's feet. The thief glared up, holding his throat. "Y-you were the one sneaking around us the whole way up here, weren't you?" He growled, angry that he and Edgar hadn't listened to Terra when she warned them.

"And if I was?" he asked, a calm expression on. He really wasn't afraid of them… "Hmph! Well, it doesn't matter whether or not I was, or who you three are. I've no idea of surrendering…Woe is the day you met me! It'll be the last of your lives!" At that, Terra reached out to grab his arm – which her arm could barely wrap around! – and tried to pull him back and off course off his advance toward the defenseless Locke. But the man turned and jabbed her in the stomach. She groaned and then collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Locke's anger flared.

"Terra!" he tried to raise and race toward her, but the man turned.

He jumped forward and brought his fist down toward Locke. Before the powerful attack smashed into him, he rolled out of the way and Edgar jumped back. Where the man's fist hit, the ground exploded into a cloud of dust and falling rocks. The ground shook for a few seconds, before the dust settled. Standing straight was the muscled man. He stretched his arms and then ran toward Locke again. Unsheathing his dagger, he sliced at him a few times before getting knocked away by a powerful kick.

Turning the assault on Edgar, the muscled man threw fists at Edgar, ducking the third strike, Edgar tried to side step to the right, but the man planted a hard kick on his chest, knocking him against the cliff walls, pinned by his foot. He man smiled at Edgar's ranged face. "Oh, come on now! What's the matter?" he mocked, laughing at Edgar's attempts to break away. He pulled his foot back and then dug his knee into Edgar's stomach and then once again turned to Locke, who was getting up. "Enough of this!" he snapped, walking over. "I'll send you to the great beyond! Along with the other man!" he came over and leaned down, lifting the thief's face to look into his eyes. "Once you two are out of the way, I can take that pretty young lady for myself." He chuckled when Locke growled, ripping himself free of the man's grasp.

The man turned to Terra's unconscious body when he was sure Locke and Edgar couldn't prolong his capture of Terra. He leaned down and gently turned the girl's face so he could see. He smiled at her beauty. He was sure Lady Luck graced him today and he thanked that fact that he decided to look for Sabin here. "She's quite beautiful." He admired, picking the girl up. "She's make a great prize for my victory." He lifted Terra and held her bridal style, turning back to Locke. He could see Edgar trying to get up. "Hm, it seems you two need a little more work done."

"That's enough, Vargas." Vargas glanced behind him at the familiar voice and grinned when he saw a tall, blond man standing on a ledge overlooking them. He wore giant, baggy white training pants and a blue tank top tied at the shoulder by chains. Wrapped around the shaft of the chains, was bear fur, neatly knotted into a braid around the chain to lead to a small, little cape of fur against his back. Around his waist, were two, heavy looking gloves with small claws at the edges. He had a bushy, blond beard that covered his chin and went up and under his nose to the sides of his face. A necklace with a tooth centered at the middle of the string was hanging around his neck. His hair was pulled into a small pony-tail. His eyes darkened. "Put the girl down." He ordered when he saw her eyes open. Vargas chuckled as he gently – which was odd to Locke – put Terra on her feet and stepped in front of her.

Terra held her arms around her stomach as she stumbled to her feet, dazed by what happened. She took a few steps before falling to her knees before Locke, who quickly got up and took her arm and wrapped it around his neck and helped her to her feet. "You okay?" he whispered and she simply nodded, glancing back at the man who stood above them all. Edgar stood, gaping at the scene before him. _My brother…he really is alive!_

Vargas stretched one more time before settling in a combat pose. "If it isn't my old friend Sabin…" Sabin lept off the cliff and landed with a thud, yet he showed no sign that the jump was too high. The monstrous man standing before Vargas shook his head in shame.

"How could you Vargas?" he asked as he took his own pose, which resembled a lion. "How could you kill Master Duncan?" his face darkened completely as slipped his gloves on. "...he was your own father. How could you?"

"Me, kill Duncan?" he shouted, raged. "I would never! That fool snubbed me, his only son! He even chose you as his successor…he couldn't care less about me, and I to him."

"That's not true, Vargas, Master lo—"

"It's true and you know it! How can you deny the truth so easily Sabin? Are you not the genius warrior I met all those years ago? Its written in the ugly sneer you wear across your face!" Vargas gestured to Sabin with a flick of his hand. Sabin shook his head as he settled out of a battle pose, his eyes solemn.

"Vargas, Master wanted you to be his successor, not me! He knew you had so much potential, so much power and grace…Please, listen to me, Master Duncan picked you!"

"I'm sick of listening to your lies, Sabin!" he yelled, the tendons on his neck popping out. "I've got far more than potential! Why don't you test it out for yourself?" he grinned and threw his fist toward Sabin, but Sabin simply slide to the side, seized his arm, twisted it backward and then kicked his back, sending him to his knees and hands.

"You're slower, Vargas. You're hatred and anger is weakening you…come to your senses!"

"Araaah!" Vargas jumped back to his feet and completed a flurry of punches, kicks, head-butts and jabs, but everything he threw was easily dodged or countered. "Damn you Sabin!" he rammed Sabin to the ground and turned to the three travelers. "I'll send you all to Hell where you belong!" he held his hands up and then curled them into fists. "Blizzard Fist!"

Sabin held his arms in front of him in the formation of an X to guard against the attack, but that didn't pertain to the others. The Blizzard fist smashed straight into Locke, Edgar and Terra, sending them fifty feet away. Locke was thrown on top of one of the cliffs along with Edgar, but Terra was knocked over toward the edge of the cliffs and was hanging half away off, knocked out from the blast. Locke growled, trying to get up to race to Terra, to help her and prevent her fall, but his legs were too heavy. He glanced over to see if Edgar was okay, but the king was already getting up to race toward Sabin.

"Edgar, no, get Terra!" the king glanced over at Terra and then at his brother. He had to help his brother…but Terra. He gritted his teeth and then turned to help Terra. He ran to the cliff's edge just in time as she was about to fall off and impale herself on the sharp rocks below. He grabbed her thin arm and then pulled her up and turned, running toward Locke, he placed Terra down near him.

"I must have Sabin! Locke grabbed his arm.

"No….if Sabin loses, you'll be the only one to get Terra out of here…and what if enemies come while you're gone? I won't be-be able to move right now! You have to stay!" gripping his hands, he nodded.

* * *

When the blizzard fist calmed down, Vargas snarled at the image of Sabin standing strong, his face dark. An angry frown appeared on his face.

"To use a move that holds so much cold and evil…I feared you'd be lost to the darkness, but I didn't think this much…" Again Vargas snarled.

"I'll make you pay for everything, Sabin! I'll kill your friends, and I'll take the girl! And then I'll be the only worthy one left!"

"Listen to yourself, Vargas!" he snapped. "We were once brothers, brethren to the House of our master! Did we mean so little to you that you could easily forget about us? Betray us?"

"Sabin! You have no idea what has been going on! You've been blind to the world around you! I will teach you to never regard my powers as nothing but great!"

As Vargas made a lunge toward Sabin, the kinder monk closed his eyes and took a deep breath. And within a second, Vargas was upon him, throwing fists as fast as he could. Sabin dodged each and everyone and then twisted at the waist and side-stepped and smacked his palms hard against Vargas' back, causing him to drop to the floor in a grunt of protest, anger and pain. Glancing up at the bear like man, Vargas saw Sabin take a stance that only the Master ever did. His eyes went wide.

"No….he couldn't have…have taught you that move!" With a quick motion, Sabin dealt a strong blow to Vargas. Vargas was thrown against the cave wall and felt his right arm and some of his ribs crack. Sabin hadn't used all his strength…or he would be dead by now.

He coughed out a little blood. "So…he already…taught you…the…Blitz!" Sabin looked away.

"If only you hadn't have been so blinded by power and rage…"

"S-Sabin…M-Master….his—" he coughed out more blood. "His m-murderer—"

Sabin knelt down beside Vargas and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and nodded. "I know…you didn't do it. But you let it fill your heart with rage and the lust of blood. You fell to your darkness…but you can be saved, relieved of your pains."

Vargas laughed a bit. "H-how can…a man like me, be forgiven? I'm dying…I can no longer atone for my sins…"

"You haven't killed…you almost did." Sabin dug through a small pouch on his waist and pulled out a bottle of green liquid. "It's my last…I was saving it for Master's next coughing fit…it doesn't need it anymore. Take it and live, Vargas."

Grasping the bottle, Vargas looked into Sabin's eyes. "I have wronged…but…maybe I can set things right… I will find Master's murderer and I will bring him to you for justice…to-to be served." Sabin nodded and helped the man drink the liquid. Once it was emptied, Vargas' eyes dropped and he fell unconscious, letting the liquid heal and sooth his body. Sabin stood then and turned to the three travelers and headed over. He saw Edgar watching with amazed eyes, eyes full of wonder, awe, happiness, sadness and shock.

When he arrived before his brother, the unconscious girl with the wildest colored hair and the hurt thief, Sabin nodded to Edgar. "S-Sabin?" Edgar asked, amazed. "Is that really you?"

"Hello again my brother. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It has…

* * *

Terra's eyes openly slowly. She was lying in a open field under a brilliantly shadowy tree with the most beautiful pink flowers she's ever seen. Weakly, she tried to get up, but pain flared through her right shoulder, arm and right leg and when she managed to get up-straight and lean against the trunk of the tree, her back also acted up. She blinked a few times before scanning the area. The last thing she remembered was being attacked by that man…and then being thrown away from him when that strange man came to help.

Frowning, she smelled the cooking meats and blushed when her stomach growled hungrily. Standing, she grudgingly made her way around the base of the tree and paused when she saw Edgar, Locke and that strange man talking silently amongst themselves. See could see that the stranger looked a lot like Edgar, yet all that hair made her think he was a bear! She shyly headed over.

"….Locke?" the men glanced up to see Terra, apparently confused, standing beside them, slumping her right side of her body a bit. Locke knew why. He got up.

"Terra, you're awake!" he chuckled as he headed over. Sabin saw her staring at him in what others would have thought was rude. But he knew hers was just innocent wonder and he smiled.

"Am I compelling to stare at?" she blushed and then adverted her eyes. "Ahaha, I'm just messing around!" Edgar laughed, but Locke rolled his eyes.

"Even apart for 10 years and you still manage to be like your brother, Sabin." The monk and the king laughed at that, but Locke crossed his arms.

"It wasn't a joke…" he muttered. Terra frowned a bit and then looked over at the Twins.

Edgar oh'd out of nowhere and looked at Terra. "Terra, I'd like you to meet my twin brother, Sabin." He pointed to Sabin. "Sabin, this is the dearest companion we have amongst us. Behave yourself, understand?"

Although Terra knew who she was, she had to hide it. But she smiled warmly at the giant man. "…Brother? At first, I thought you were a bear…"

Sabin, Edgar and Locke had burst into laughter. The monk's blue eyes were full of merriment and laughter. "You thought I was a…bear?" she felt silly now and looked away after nodding. "I guess I'll, uh….take that as a compliment!" he looked over at his brother, whom he liked to call older. "Anyway…Edgar, what are you doing here?"

Edgar rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. "We'll, we're on our way through Mt. Kolts to Sabre Mountains."

"To the Returners hideout, no doubt?" Edgar and Locke nodded. "So, the wheels are finally turning…I've been watching from a distance, hoping the world would come to its senses. The way things were going, I was afraid Figaro would end up as a puppet state."

"A means of striking back has presented itself." Edgar had said, confidently. Locke flinched at that and glanced over at Terra, to see if she caught on. "There will be no more playing lapdog to the Empire…I'm through with that act." He shook his head. "I will make our world safe again."

Sabin laughed, flexing his muscles. "Think a 'bear' like me could be of any help?" he winked at Terra and felt the shame silliness from before wash over her.

"You'd honestly join us, Sabin?"

"I think Master Duncan would rest easier knowing his training helped bring peace to the world."

Locke grinned and wrapped his arm around Terra's thin shoulders. "Well then! Let's get going!"

* * *

_Whooo! Sorry for the long wait! I just finished a third check-through for errors! I probably missed a lot, if you spot any, please tell me! I will fix them quickly!_

_I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! It was a bit difficult writing in Sabin...I hope I wrote him good! Thank you for reading! I would love to see your reviews :)_


	12. Purple Annoyance

**A's Notes**: I'm sorry for such a late update, I've been very busy lately and I was writing it, it just took a long time. I've gone through it many times and I hope I took care of most of the problems in it. But I will keep updating it and keeping looking for errors. If you see any, please review or PM where they are. Thank you very much!

Chapter: Purple Annoyance

Having Sabin on their team certainly helped their plans out nicely. With the roguish monk on their team, they managed to get out of the Sabre Mounts easily without getting lost in the spider-web like column in the caves. Terra had stayed to the back of the new team, watching Edgar and Sabin talk up a storm about their lives while Locke was preparing their dinner. Terra was sitting silently on a flat rock, her head resting in her hands.

They had just recently stopped for a quick lunch, and everything already felt normal to the others. They didn't seem any bit awkward around their new recruit. Was it weird that she did? She cuddled closer to herself and sighed. Sabin intimidated her; his dark, thoughtful gaze, his giant, bear-like body and his furry face. He looked like he could smash her with just his hand. She glanced back over at the bear-twin and frowned. Edgar seemed to be in happier mood, he was smiling and laughing. Terra frowned when she saw Sabin pause and then slowly look over at her, as if Edgar had just mentioned something about her. She blushed and shrunk into herself, knowing what Edgar had mentioned.

"Magic?" Sabin asked, watching her. "Are you serious?"

"I'm as serious as I always am, Sabin." The king muttered, shaking his head. "I've seen her torch a Magitek Suit to liquid."

Sabin's eyes went wide. "A Magitek suit? Jeez…" the monk looked at her again, shaking his head. "Is she dangerous?" Edgar offered a bit of a chuckle.

"I don't think it's in her, Sabin. She's too much like a child…" Edgar stopped himself and then rubbed at his neck, not sure if he should mention what wasn't his life to tell. Well, he was a king after all, he should be able to. "although, the Empire had control over her."

"The Empire? For what?" he shouted, but Edgar clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Shush, you oaf!" he growled, looking over to see Terra hadn't heard or rather, just didn't care. "They put a slave crown on her head and forced her…forced her to kill."

Sabin eyes went to the ground, his hands tightened into balls. "How…how could they?" he hissed, trying to control his anger. "How could they do that to her?"

"From what Locke and I gather, it was done at a young age. She doesn't remember anything, not even what a fork was or what flowers were. She's got amnesia, but I've never heard of amnesia taking so much, so she must have been just a child…"

Sabin's anger flared. "Damn…damn them!" he turned and left the camp site, angry. Terra and Locke glanced up at him stomping pass them. A frown appeared on Terra's face as she followed the young man out of the camp site with her eyes. She was tempted to ask what was wrong, but decided against it. She had her own problems to think of.

A few hours later, the bear-twin stalked back into the camp site, his face red with anger. He had dirt all over him and a bleeding lip. Edgar growled. "What happened to you?"

"I…found a few Imperials." Edgar stared at his brother, but Locke gasped, standing up, he asked where they were. "Don't worry," he pushed pass his brother. "I took care of them." Terra had glanced up at the mention of Imperials and quickly looked away when he said he took care of them. She…she could have been one of those Imperials. She gulped back fear, her heart aching. If Locke hadn't have found her, she could have been killed by Sabin, Edgar, Locke or someone else.

Locke sighed when the monk left and decided to start their meal. While it cooked, he headed over to see how Terra was doing. "Heya Terra. You've been a bit quiet since Sabin joined the team…"

"Oh, sorry Locke, I've been thinking."

"About?" he asked, stretching out beside her.

She blinked a few times. "About…my memories."

"Oh, I see." The thief rose and then smiled. "You can't force it Terra, you have to let it come to you and it will, in time."

"I hope so..." she muttered.

* * *

When they started up their journey again, the whole team was silent, not even Locke spoke or hummed a tune…it was like they lost their voices. When they managed through the last few caves and stood on the hill overlooking the large field, Terra fidgeted in her spot behind the team, a little annoyed by the silence. She decided to try it.

"When…when will we be there?" there was a little wait of silence before Locke glanced back, a smile on his face.

"We should be there by tonight, if we're lucky." he replied, concentrating on something. Terra sighed.

_Finally,_ she thought, feeling a little bit of weight lift off her chest. "What happens…when we meet this Bannon?"

Edgar turned to look at her as he spoke. "He'll help us figure out what's going on and help us figure out a course of action. He's a very smart and kind man, Terra; I promise you will enjoy his presence." She smiled at Edgar and nodded. "Good, now we just need to start this back up. If only there was a way to know there aren't any more Imperials ahead of us, we could just cut through without wasting time."

"You don't need to worry about them," Sabin muttered. "No one got pass us. The only way into this field is the way we just came from and we didn't see the Imperials pass us. We'll be fine with a cut through."

"You seem to know what you're talkin' about," Locke muttered, looking out ahead of them. "Has the Imperials ever come here before?" Terra listened in, interested.

"No…and I've been the one making sure of that." Edgar gasped at his brother's statement. _Bannon…knew my brother was alive and well?_ Edgar's anger flared a bit, but he kept it in check.

"So we don't have to worry about soldiers?" Terra asked, a bit weakly.

"That's what I said." Sabin muttered and headed on without them. Terra frowned and then avoided the worried look of Locke and Edgar. She didn't need him or Edgar looking at her after her humiliation. Her face stung with embarrassment as she hurried off ahead of them, even pass Sabin. Locke gave Sabin a nasty stare before running ahead to catch up with Terra, to try and cheer her up. Edgar took the change and pulled Sabin to a slower pace.

"That was uncalled for, Sabin. Is something bothering you?"

"You…you've been on their side," he muttered, disappointed. "Even if you were just faking to be their 'ally', you were still on their side. And look what they've done to her," he gestured to Terra. "Look what they've done to everyone…to father…"

Edgar sighed and dropped his hand from his shoulder. "I did what I had to so the kingdom could be okay, Sabin." The kind king crossed his arms. "We were given two choices; to join the Empire or have the kingdom burned down to the ground." Edgar shook his head, tiredly. "I was only trying to give them a safe life. I thought you and father would understand."

The monk's kind eyes lowered. "You're…I'm sorry, Edgar, I guess my hatred for the Empire hasn't vanished after all my training." Edgar patted his back.

"Its fine brother, just…take it slowly, together we can get through this."

When they finally arrived at their destination, Terra could see the firelight dotting the mountain side of the – what Locke called - Returners Hideout. Caves and camp posts were shattered about the mountain ledges. Fires and soldiers were making their rounds on the higher, wider cliff sides when one of them spotted the four and started to wave at them. Locke grinned, waving back at the man. It was pitch dark, the moon was high above them, casting a silvery light down on the soldiers lodgings. Locke and his friends could barely be seen, but the soldier seemed to have caught sight of them rather quickly.

"Locke? King Edgar? Oh, and Sabin too!" the man nodded to a few men before climbing down the latter. "Bannon was wondering when you guys would show up. Here, follow me; I'll take you to him."

Edgar held a hand up. "Wait good sir, we have a tired companion with us. Do you have a rest room?"

"We don't have any free as of the moment. Bannon would like to see you before you head off to the sleeping corridors though. So please, follow me." The group followed the man through the cave opening beside the latter and down a long hall lit with torches and littered with boxes of weapons and supplies. At the end, was a split into three halls; one straight, left and right. The soldier stood in the center and pointed to the right. "King Edgar! This way, please!"

Locke looped an arm around Terra's shoulder as they headed down the right split. "Don't worry Terra," he muttered, sensing her nervousness. "Bannon is nice! You'll love him, huh guys?" the twins nodded as they entered the room. Terra felt her heart lighten a bit and took a deep breath.

Standing to the far back, was a short, rather plump, old man with a head and beard of dark blondish-red hair, which was grown to look much like a lion's mane, but probably not on purpose. He wore a dark green robe with a gold vest and a wide belt. As he turned, Terra could see that he had bright green eyes and wrinkles all over his old face. He had a stubby little nose, which was bright red, matching his rosy cheeks. He smiled and laughed as he welcomed his three favorite Returners. He hugged Sabin, patted Locke's shoulder and shook Edgar's hand.

"Ah, my king, my friend and my informant." He chuckled and nodded to them. "And here I thought it would be the next season before you showed up. What kept you? Your letter spoke of great haste and need."

Edgar came up and whispered: "Bannon, we brother her with us." The old man's eyes went wide as he glanced behind the three men, now knowing what to call the mysterious young woman behind the young men. He pushed pass them gently and stood before Terra, his once bright, happy eyes now drifted into a deep thought that seemed cold and distant. His eyes searched out her eyes and Terra could help but feel something grip her heart. He reached his hand out to remove the hood over her head and didn't gasp as his soldiers then did when they saw her hair color in the light, rather sighed and took a lock of it in his hands, giving the color the same thoughtful gaze. She felt so flustered, she could hear the guards behind her muttering to each other about her odd hair and felt a sting of embarrassment hit her.

"So, this is the girl….the one whom the Esper responded to in Narshe, correct?"

"Esper…?" she muttered, confused. She meant it as a question, yet there was something that was trying to tell her it was familiar…somehow. She heard Edgar start to speech.

"It seems the Empire had complete control over her." He rubbed at his chin, thinking of something else to say, like he forgot and wanted to remember.

"Carrier pigeons have kept me informed." He said in a rather rude 'matter-of-factly' tone, which caught Edgar's short temper. "I also heard that she wiped out over three hundred Imperial soldiers in mere minutes…" Terra gasped, stepping back as horror struck her face. She remembered a similar dream that showed what he was daring to assume about her. Edgar, Sabin and Locke gasped, raged.

Tears stung at her eyes as she stepped back more. "No, that's not…!" she closed her eyes tightly, fighting back sobs.

"Terra!" Locke reached out to take her shaking hand.

"For heaven's sake, Bannon!" Edgar snapped, his eyes darkening. "This girl doesn't remember anything!"

"Hiding from the damn truth won't change it!" he snapped, waving Edgar off. Sabin had calmed his anger down as he spoke…who was he when he had been just as rude earlier? "Perhaps you've heard of this story?" he glanced at Terra before turning to continue. "Once, when people were still pure and innocent, there was a box they were told never to open." He paused before a painting hanging off of the cave wall. "But someone went and opened it anyway, unleashing all the evils of the world." He ran his hand over the various symbols on the painting. "Pride….envy…greed…wrath…gluttony…the only thing that remained in the box was a single ray of light: Hope."

Terra frowned. "…" _Hope?_ Out of all the bad, hope was left? She blinked a few times but paused, completely still when Bannon turned and walked back in front of her. "Your power is a gift, not a curse." Huh? How did you know about my magic? "No matter what happens, you must remember that. You are this world's last ray of light…our final hope."

"Bannon!" Edgar shouted, horrified. How could he put so much on the shoulders of a hurt and confused young girl, who was barely a woman? How could he ask so much of a victim? His clenched his fists.

Terra voided the old man's gaze and then Bannon sighed. "I've grown weary with the hour….allow me to rest for a while." He walked pass Terra and up a little flight of stairs into another room. Terra took a breath. _Me…? But how?_

After the rough encounter with Bannon, Locke decided to take Terra to a rest room. Edgar suggested to Locke about talking to her when they were alone, to help her through what she just experienced. The thief nodded and took Terra down the straight hall at the split and then turned to one of the many dug in rooms and opened the door, allowing her in first.

She sighed as she started for the fluffy bed. When she sat down, she heard Locke sigh. "You get some rest…tomorrow, you can decide on what to do."

"Locke…" she muttered, and he paused. "Thank you…for everything." He smiled and nodded, walking out.

The next morning, or so Terra thought, she woke completely energized. She sat up and stretched, content with her night's rest that made even the still achy bones from her fall in Narshe, fell lesser in burden. She got up and gasped when she saw Locke sitting on the chair, smiling at her. "Mornin' sleep head!" she smiled and slipped into her boots as she stood. He saw the hesitation on her face when he knew she thought of what she had to do – make a life changing choice.

He closed her eyes and remembered the question she asked him before: 'do you trust me'. He knew that wasn't the case, he trusted this caring young lady with his life, but how could he have told her that he didn't want to get too attached to her? He especially decided that decision the moment she told him she couldn't remember. He didn't want to be put through that…no again. But now he knew he had to share a bit with her, to show her how joining the Returners would be a good choice, but he didn't want to push her, so he took a deep breath and said:

"Ya know…" she paused after fixing her hair and turned to watch him, carefully. "The Empire stole someone important from me." He looked away. "I've hated them ever since. If no one stands up to the Empire, more people will be left like me. That's why I," he stressed 'I'. "Joined the Returners."

Terra frowned, taken back by the hurtful lonely feeling. "But…there's no one important in my life. I have no family…no friends…"

"That's not true!" He jumped up, frowning at her. "And besides, I'm sure there are people who feel you're important to them! Those people are counting on you, too…" Terra looked away, thanking Locke, she ran out of the room, even more confused than before.

Terra had, by accident, found the pub area of the cave. She walked up to the counter but stopped when she spotted Sabin by the end, drinking green liquid in a giant mug. She swallowed. I might as well try…

Sabin glanced up when he saw a young woman sit beside him, clearly flustered. He smiled, hopeful she'd forgive him from before. "Sorry…about before." He muttered, drinking his tea. "I didn't mean to be like that. Monks are supposed to be calm and collected…"

Terra smiled at the bear-like man and giggled. "That's okay…Sabin, can I ask you something?" she wanted to hear from her 'friends' before she made a choice. What drove them, what made them pick this side and not the Imperial side. She had to know, she knew it would clear her head. He nodded. "Why did you pick to fight the Imperial Army?"

The bear-like man sighed and sipped his tea. "They killed my father." Was his simple answer. He chuckled at her sorry face. "I don't know what to tell you…but I do know that I trust my brother completely. He's always thought of my needs before his own, ever since we were little." He said, obviously thinking of the past, for a grin appeared on his face. Terra knew what had happened, but listened on. "I think you should trust him, too. But don't tell him I said that! He'll turn as red as a tomato!" he laughed when Terra giggled; imagining the king that the girls at the castle said never blushed but caused it, blushing.

"Thank you Sabin, for listening to me." She got up and headed off, hopefully to find Edgar, her last friend. She headed into the back room, where she saw shelves and shelves of books and tables stacked high with papers and letters. She spotted him, looking over a map, mumbling to himself. She fiddled with her tunic top as she entered into the room. He heard her movement and looked up, smiling at her as he rose. He bowed. "M'lady."

"Edgar…I need to ask you something." The king immediately took on a kingly appearance and nodded, asking her to continue. "What should I do? You, Sabin and Locke…you all have something to fight for, to fight to protect. But…I have nothing."

Edgar hmm'd her and rubbed at his neck. "My father once told me 'fight for what you believe in. Even when there seems like there is nothing left, you must never lose hope, you must never stop helping and that everything is precious'…I never got what he said until my brother left me ten years ago. Right then as he left, I knew what I had to do. I had to fight against the Empire so I could protect everyone, so that everyone could live through my protection and guidance. I didn't want them to suffer the same way I and my brother had when we lost our father." Terra gasped a bit. _Exactly like what Locke had said…_

"It's not easy asking so much of you…and if we force our ideas on you, we're no different than the Empire. So…we want you to decide for yourself." He turned back to his table and sat down, aware that she was still standing there, staring at him with thoughtful eyes.

"Thank you Edgar…" she whispered, before turning, hoping that what she now felt was the right decision. She had a few guards if they had seen Bannon, and only one could say: "Bannon? He went outside just a moment ago." So, hurrying out into the dusky late afternoon day, she found Bannon standing on a large ledge, watching the sun fade from the pink and yellow sky.

He heard her move and sighed. "Have you made your decision? Will you become our last ray of hope?" he turned to look her straight in the face, his worried eyes dark with sorrow.

Terra looked down at her feet, feeling her heart tighten. What should she do? Was her previous idea of helping, now wrong when she faced it? Or was this just natural? No, how could she tell what was natural. She had nowhere else to go, no family, no friends, no home…what else could she do? If she didn't help, she'd just be running for the rest of her life from the Empire. She looked up.

"…Yes…I will."

Bannon's eyes went wide with surprise and hope. "Really, you will?" he chuckled. "Thank you!"

"But…I'm scared…" Bannon looked away for a second and then laid a hand on her shoulder.

"The uncertainty you're feeling is only natural." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a brown glove with a few jewels on it and held it out to her. "Terra…I want you to have this."

Terra gently took it from him. "What is it?"

"A charm," he smiled. "to help you keep safe. Take it!" he nodded happily when she shyly slipped it on. "I have a plan. Would you please gather everyone together?"  
asd

"Well then…" Bannon asked them to be sitted. Locke, Terra, Edgar, Sabin and the soldiers seated themselves around the large table. Terra was to the left of Edgar, who was next to Locke. To the left of Terra, some soldiers. Bannon was standing at the very tip of the table. "We all know that the Gesthalian Empire is using its Magitek power to wage war. The question is, where did they get that power?" he looked around the table to see if any had anything to say, Edgar rose his hand.

"I had Locke dig around for information before he went to Narshe. It seems the Empire has been gathering scholars from around the world to study Espers."

Bannon nodded to Edgar as Locke spoke next. "Narshe's Esper was also the reason for the Imperial assault there." Terra looked down, thinking of the damage she caused the Narshe village. She looked up at Locke and then Bannon.

"Are you saying…there's some kind of connection between Espers and the Magitek?" she seemed confused by it all. What was a Esper anyway? Bannon rubbed his chin.

"Espers and Magitek….Only one possible link comes to mind."

Edgar's eyes went wide. Terra glanced over at the king, to watch him. "You don't mean…"

"The War of Magi." His simple response made Edgar shake in fear. The soldiers around Terra starting shouting. "No!" "That's impossible!" "How can this be?"

Locke broke their yelling. "My grandma used to tell me bedtime stories about magical machines…those stories were true?" Bannon nodded to the thief, giving him much to think over. Edgar stood up.

"You're saying we're on the verge of a second War of Magi?" the leader nodded again.

"It's only a guess. The war took place a thousand years ago, and every historian has a different theory. But one theory says that energy drained from the Espers was used to power machines…and that ordinary humans were also infused with the same energy."

The room gasped, horrified at the notion. Terra looked up at the lion-like man. "So that's…what Magitek power is."

Edgar couldn't help the idea and the grasp at power to help the world. "If we're going to fight Magitek enemies, we need Magitek weapons of our own." Bannon shot up in a hurry.

"No! That would bring about another war of the Magi!"

"Then what do you propose?" he asked, a little irritated.

"I was wondering if we might be able to have a chat with an Esper…"

"….with an Esper!"

Bannon glanced over at Terra. "It's risky, but that Esper reacted to Terra before…If we could get it to react to her again, we might just be able to wake it up." Edgar sent Terra a searching glance before putting it back on Bannon.

"Do you really think that would work?"

Bannon turned around, thinking. "I can't say for sure, but I believe it's our best shot…Of course, we can't do anything without Terra's help."

Locke, sensing she hadn't made a choice yet, looked over at her. "Terra…"

"I'll do it." Locke and Edgar looked at each other, surprised. She had so much courage in her voice, so much strength…it was a great surprise.

Sabin for once in the discussion, chuckled aloud, clearly confused. "I'm not entirely sure I understand the plan…but what the hey! This sounds like it'll be fun!" the Returners started to laugh.

A loud crash came from the halls. "What was that? That noise just now…?" Bannon gasped, running to the door, the Returners behind him. He shouted for help when he saw a soldier, lying in a pool of blood, by the door.

"Bannon, sir…! S-South…Figaro…"

"What's wrong? What's happened!" he leaned down to help the man, but he shook his hands away.

"Th-the Empire's…t-taken South Figaro…They're headed….this way…" and then the man's hand clentched and his breathing stopped. Terra gasped, feeling a sob of fear crawl up her throat. Bannon looked down as he closed the man's eyes as he spoke.

"So they've found us…We haven't a moment to lose!" Bannon glanced over at Edgar, who turned to Locke and Terra.

"Locke!" the king shouted.

Locke grinned sheepishly as he held a thumb up toward him. "I know…'someone' has to sneak into South Figaro to slow down the enemy, right?" Terra gasped, reaching a hand out to Locke's, as if she could stop him.

"This is right up your alley. We're counting on you." Edgar muttered, handing him a few potions. Locke turned to Terra and hugged her tightly, which was the first. Terra smiled a bit, but couldn't shake away the fear of losing Locke.

"Terra…wait for me…I won't be gone long. And watch out for a certain lecherous young kin who shall remain nameless. The guy moves in like a hawk!" Edgar blushed, which surprised Terra and made her giggle.

"Locke!" he bellowed, in protest, about to offer up a 'that is not true' but Sabin interrupted. "Edgar…old habits die hard, eh?" the king's blush intensive and he turned away from them, suddenly nervous.

Bannon crossed his arms. "What about us?" he asked as Locke ran off pass them. Edgar rubbed at his chin as he turned around, looking around the cave.

"We can escape down the Lethe River and make our way to Narshe. I'm curious about that Esper they found in the mines…" Bannon laughed and walked pass them, grabbing a few things off the table. It was a map and a few other objects.

"Very well. I'll ready the raft by the back entrance. It's risky, but we don't have much of a choice at this point." He said. "We've no time to dilly-dally. Let's make for Narshe!" He went through a door and disappeared. Edgar glanced over at the frantic Terra as Sabin followed to help Bannon.

"It's not safe here. Come with us to Narshe…it could be a chance for you to gain a better understanding of your abilities." She blinked a few times before nodding softly, walking beside Edgar.

Sabin laughed as he lept off the cliff side and onto the large, sturdy raft. It shook at his weight but then slowed to a decent pace. Bannon rolled his eyes as he prepared the raft. Edgar glanced back at Terra, who was still at the entrance, watching the water in fear. "Don't worry Terra, we won't let you fall."

"I…don't think I can swim?" she muttered, confused. Edgar laughed and took her hand.

"M'dear, my brother will catch you, I promise." He put her at the edge of the cliff and called for Sabin. His twin nodded, holding his arms out to catch her, he told him to go. "Ready, Terra?" she swallowed and then nodded, taking a step further, she fell over the edge. The king peered over and smiled when he saw Sabin helping Terra to her feet. And then Edgar jumped down and fell into a roll, nearly falling over the side. He got up and sighed at the pain in his side. _I need to work out a little more._ He rubbed at his side and turned, waving at Bannon and the four guards beside him. "Release the rope. We need to hurry."

Terra was sitting in the middle of the raft, her head between her knees, trying to keep herself from throwing up. The constant, hard jerkish swaying of the raft on the rapids was making her ill. She glanced up dully to see Edgar helping a guard steer them away to the left and Sabin at the end of the raft, watching the water. He wasn't being tossed around by the sway of the water, except the light movement. She gasped. _How is he doing that?_ The bear-man turned and caught Terra's sight. He grinned and came over, noticing her green face. "Motion sickness, eh?" she nodded, too afraid that if she opened her mouth, she'd puked on Sabin. He chuckled and leaned down, grabbing her chin and arm, he lifted her up. "When I was training, my master taught me a useful trick," he straightened her body out and then stepped back. "To breathe in through the mouth," he took a deep breath. "And then out through the nose." He released the breath through his nose. "Just do that whenever you feel sick, helps me out." He patted her arm before walking off to chat with Bannon. Terra smiled when she tried the trick and it lessened the sick feeling in her gut. She wanted to thank Sabin, but it would be rude she thought, to interrupt his discussion with Bannon.

Edgar glanced over his shoulder when he saw Sabin leave Terra and saw the smile spread across her face and couldn't help but asked himself what had been said. As he turned to confront Terra, the raft shook terribly and he fell to his knees, but Terra had fallen backward toward the end of the raft. Before he could rise and help Terra up, she screamed. She was looking…at him? No, behind him! The king looked over his shoulder and gasped.

A giant, purple monster had sprung up out of the raging water and stopped their raft from going forward. A row of sharp, yellow teeth hung from its mouth with large, red eyes. It was a purple octopus! Edgar rose, sword in hand as Sabin stood, bowing his head to the monster before they took a defensive position. Bannon yelped and wobbled to Terra, the soldiers following behind.

The purple beast laughed. "Gwee-hee-hee…! You're up a creek without a paddle!" he wiggled his tentacles about. "And I'm not gonna let you through!" he locked eyes with Terra, mocking a sad face. "Does that make me a bad octopus?" he slammed one arm into the raft and shook the twins to the ground, another arm wrapping in circles in the air and then it sprang forward and grabbed a soldier by the leg and started to swing him about.

"Aahhaa!" the soldier was crying for help. Another man came up and torched the end of a spear and then chucked it at the octopus. The purple beast recoiled in anger and dropped the man, who got up fine. Edgar got up and grabbed his tool box as his brother flung a heated fist at the beast.

"Come on…come on!" he hissed to himself as he pressed the jammed button. Shit! He slammed his fist into the button and grinned as the tool box hissed, ready for transformation. Edgar slapped it to the side of his sword and waited for the quick shift of the tool box. Within seconds, he had an auto-crossbow. He grinned and asked for the soldiers to ignite his arrows. Doing as ordered, the men watched Edgar fire the fiery missiles into the air and into the side of the octopus. Hissing, the purple sea-monster slammed a curled arm into Edgar's chest, knocking him to the end of the raft and into Terra. The green haired vixen gasped at the weight of Edgar and used as much strength as she could to push the man off of her.

"Edgar!" she gasped, shaking him. "Wake up!" Bannon came up and laid a hand on his head and chanted a few words. Within a few seconds, a bright light swept over Edgar. The king groaned, weakly getting up. Terra smiled, jumping to hug Edgar. He laughed, his voice a little dry and patted her back as he got up.

"Pro…" he rubbed at the sore spot on his side. "Protect Bannon Terra. You two are too important…promise me you won't try anything."

The monster laughed as he saw Terra behind Edgar. "Oh, that one's a tasty morsel! I'd love to get my tentacles around her…" he made a loud slurping sound. Edgar growled and then jumped into a run to help his brother. Bannon laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. He saw the look in her eyes. He closed his eyes and nodded.

"Go…help your friend." Terra smiled, thanking the old man as she rose and stepped forward. She took a breath. I _can do this…I can do this…please let me use my magic! Please! _She held her hands up toward the octopus. Her hands shook as they built up the magical powers. Her hands started to glow more and more as her aim steadied into a direct point at the purple monster. She closed her eyes. _Please…work!_ "Fire!" she opened her eyes and watched as fire spewed from her hands in a massive wave. Edgar, hearing the spell's name, grabbed Sabin by the arm and tugged him to the ground and covered him with his cape as the fire roared five-six feet above them against the sea-creature. The monster screamed and threw an arm out toward Terra and picked her up, ripping her from her trance. Her eyes faded back to their normal color and she gasped as she realized she was being lifted off the ground. She shouted and felt the drain of the magic already. Tears of defeat filled her eyes. All that magic…she should have put more into it! Now she'd be eaten!

The purple octopus grinned at Terra. "Why hello—" something hard hit his face, making him drop Terra back to the raft in a thud. The evil yellow eyes spotted Sabin landing from his hit and growled. "Muscle-heads? Hate `em!" He slid back into the gray-blue water and vanished.

Sabin chuckled as he fixed his shirt. "I guess it got the point…?" Edgar's breathing was shallow as he shook his head.

"I wouldn't bet on it…it's probably just hiding down there." The twins turned when they heard Terra's squeal.

"Ewww! Something's stuck to my leg!" she was trying to shake off a piece of purple tentacle.

"Terra! Get away from there!" Edgar gasped and ran over, picking her up, he brought her back to the middle of the raft. Bannon sighed, feeling a little better as Edgar and Sabin tore the purple tentacle pieces off of Terra's leg. Edgar could see the drain the spell had on her, her skin was whiter than before.

"We should be all right now." Bannon said, hopeful. Sabin growled and stood, gripping his hands as he flexed his muscles.

"Eight-armed freak….! I'm gonna smash it with a blitz!" as the Monk turned to the water, Edgar stopped him.

"No! Sabin!" the monk pushed his brother out of the way.

"Out of my way, Edgar!" and then he jumped into the water. Edgar swore at his brother and turned to the others, embarrassed that Sabin is related to him.

"He's always been a bit…rash." The king muttered, shaking his head as he sat down on the raft. Terra glanced over the edge of the raft into the water, a sad expression on.

"Sabin…" Bannon came over to pat Terra's shoulder.

"Oh, he'll be fine!" Edgar glanced over at the old healer, unsure.

"Are you sure, Bannon?" the man nodded.

"You're his own brother!" he chuckled." You should know better than any of us. Any second now he'll flop back up onto the raft, right as rain!" They heard splashing and saw Sabin being thrown out of the water, high over their raft and over to the right, out of their course. Edgar started to laugh aloud, his face bright with merriment. "Think he missed the "onto the raft" part. Ha-ha..." Terra gasped as she watched the bear-man drop into the water. "Sabin…!" she shouted. Edgar came to stand beside her, to watch his twin brother wash down a different current.

"Sabin!" he called out. "You're on your own now!" Terra watched as his body bobbed under water and then drifted through a cave. Be safe, Sabin. It was nightfall by the time they stopped on a large piece of ledge poking out of the side of the mountains to the sides of the Lethe River. Edgar, with the help of two soldiers, managed to drag their direction toward the perfect area to climb up at and then once all were off the raft – which sadly made them have to jump into the water -, they lifted it and placed it securely on land to use the next morning. Edgar asked one of the guards if they had brought the needed supplies and two of them nodded. "Yes sir, we brought them in the travel bags, sir." He dropped the big back off his back to the ground, tired. Edgar nodded and lifted the bag over to the walls to build their tents. There were two tent sets, five bedrolls and a change of clothes for each soldier and Bannon. _Hmm…_ Edgar counted the bedrolls again. Not enough…Damnit, I told Sabin to pack more than five! The king rose and pointed to the two men.

"You two, start a fire." He looked at the last soldier and Bannon. "Would you two mind catching so fish? It's been seven years since I last tried…" the soldier saluted and headed off to the edge to fish for their meal. He turned to Terra and saw her shivering in her wet clothes and sighed, leaning down to take out a change in clothes from one of the soldiers. They could get over it, he thought bitterly. "Terra, m'dear?" she glanced up, shivering. "You seem a trifle cold in your clothes…why don't you change into these?" he handed them to her. "I can dry your clothes while you wait." She smiled faintly. "Ah, good!" he helped her up. "Follow me, I'll get a tent up quickly." She followed him to the wall and waited patiently for fifteen minutes before Edgar finished and thanked him.

"Th-thank you, Edgar."

"Oh it is my pleasure, m'dear. Just make sure you stay warm, we don't want the lady of the group catching a cold." He stole her hand and placed a gentle, warm kiss on her knuckles before turning with a flourish of his cape and toward the two working on the fire. When the two had the fire going, Edgar put Terra's clothes about the fire to dry them and then turned to see Terra leaving the tent, dressed in warm and cottony soldier attire, male attire. He cleared his throat, a little annoyed at the thought that sprang into his head about how beautiful she looked with her hair down to frame her face. He rubbed his nose and then bowed to Terra when she saw all the men staring at her.

She blushed. "Tis good to see mine lady dressed warmly." Edgar said aloud, speaking for them all. "Here, come sit by the fire and keep yourself warm." Terra avoided their gazes and sat down by the fire, cuddling into herself to keep extra warm. A bowl of soup appeared in her sight and she looked up a bit to see Edgar smiling at her. "I don't mean to be a burden, m'lady, but this should help." She smiled at him tenderly and took the bowl.

"Thank you Edgar." He went to sit by the other side of the fire, alone it seemed to Terra. One of the soldiers grinned at Terra, explaining that he made the fish soup. The green haired vixen thanked him as well and soon found herself thanking the others too as they started giving her every little detail of what they helped on. Edgar crossed his arms, annoyed. They were all staring at her with big puppy-dog eyes, as if they'd never seen a…_beautiful, caring…and intelligent woman with the most cunning eyes and voice_. He blushed when he heard his thoughts echoing around about Terra and hid his face from the others, feeling betrayed by his own feelings. 

_No_, he thought, _she's simply just attractive and very sweet_. He told himself, stern. _Even the other men notice it_. He took a staggering breath. He decided to give her another glance and saw her smiling at one of the soldiers practically begging for a 'thank you' plus their name. She laughed when one took the credit for jumping into the water first and Edgar stood rather abruptly, which caught their attention, and then charged off to the other end of the ledge, to think and be by himself. Terra frowned, certain it was her fault.

When it got too late, Terra rose from the fire spot and headed to her tent, too tired to think about how she upset Edgar and too tired to worry any more about Locke and Sabin. When she entered her tent, all of the bedrolls had been taken whilst she lingered by the fire a little longer. She shivered and frowned, turning to go back to the fire, now her only source of warmth. She saw Edgar returning back to the fire and paused to watch him sit and look up at her. "It's a bit cold," he muttered. "shouldn't the lady be resting?" She laughed a bit as she came to sit beside him by the fire.

"They took all the bedrolls." Edgar laughed.

"They are a disgrace to the gentlemen of this world." He shook his head, throwing a few more pieces of wood into the fire. It seemed a bit quiet…and Edgar knew Terra wouldn't be the one to start up a conversation. He decided to start it up…they were out in the cold anyway. But what should he start it off with? He could see the pain hidden in her eyes, her constant pull to keep her fear and pain back in check, so she didn't reveal it to them. Ah, that's it…she hasn't remembered anything recently. He coughed. "Have you remembered anything yet, m'dear?" she shook her head.

"No…not yet. My head has been a little foggy recently." Edgar noticed the new red gauntlet she wore and smiled.

"I suppose you received that gift from Bannon?" she asked how he could tell. "Well, I received one when I joined as well. Only…" he lifted his arm and she could see an arm guard, black and dark brown. "I got this." She smiled.

"I'm a Returner now?"

"Of course!" he waggled a finger at her. "Now you're like a princess…If you want I could make you a queen, dear." He softly said, causing her to giggle. "Those girls were right, you never stop teasing." Edgar laid a hand over his heart at her statement. "I _never_ tease m'dear."

* * *

_Well, that's it for chapter 12! I hope you liked it! Please review and report mistakes!_

_Thanks for reading! :_


	13. Sabotage and the Fallen General!

**Author Notes:** I'm sorry for the late update. It was hard to get all of what I really needed, into the chapter. I hope its good :(

Chapter: Sabotage and the Fallen General!

_They acted as If sneaking into this place was easy_, Locke thought bitterly as he dropped behind a row of barrels. Three young guards had marched pass, laughing at something that had been said out of range for Locke to hear. But he had a feeling it was one of those perverted jokes the soldiers often shared. When they passed, he snuck out and around the barrels toward a small house which had its front windows opened, most likely for fresh air, unless the owner wanted to keep an eye out of Imperial soldiers looting their stuff.

He carefully peaked through the open window to see a rather old woman pouring tea into her little white and green mug. She looked tired and very sad and Locke wondered just how bad the soldiers were treating everyone in the town. _They don't even leave the old alone? Damn them!_ He sighed and shook his head, stunned by the thoughts that went through his mind.

_I should help this town…but Edgar would be furious to know about my side-stop._ _Crap, what do I do? Take my time to stop and destroy the town's soldiers and their resources? Or should I just do my mission and slow them down? Distract them? No…I have to help, it'll help Edgar's team as well. Oh man…I hope I'm not creating another problem. _He got up and snuck to the front door, avoiding the guards.

He almost wanted to put the Gil back into his pocket, but he forced himself to slide the 1000 Gil under the door, knock and run off as fast as he could to the barrels once more. Yes…he'd help the town and do his mission. The guards turned when the door of the house opened and watched the old lady look about, clearly confused and Locke hated making her think she was going crazy, but it was needed to ease the rest of her life in this town.

With the guards distracted by the old lady, Locke turned and ran quietly along the edge of the stone path along the river that stretched to the ocean and behind a tall building that seemed to b e connected to another by the means of cheap wood and recent, slopping nailing jobs.

He made it just as the guards turned their attention back to their post. A breath of relief escaped his mouth as he gently looked to the other side of the house for anymore on guard patrol. He spotted two. One group by the armory and weapon shop and another standing on a stair case leading up to an Item shop.

How could he get the closer group to turn, or leave? He glanced about and spotted a child messing with a windmill the soldiers had set up to power the generator for the Magitek Suits and grinned. He turned and sat the pouch hanging from his waist down and dug through it for a few charge bolts, an item the Returner grunts gave to him back at the Hideout. They were very handy for shutting generators and Magitek suits down.

He gripped one fist sized Charge bolt and aimed the best he could and chucked it at the large generator beeping beside the kid. When the junky machine hissed and popped and exploded into smoke, the soldiers near the item shop's stairs charged over and demanded what the child had done.

With their attention claimed, Locke hurried pass the backs of the soldiers and kid and up the stairs. Well hidden, he checked to see if the kid was alright and swore when he saw the kid pointing to the remains of the Charge bolts.

_Damnit!_ The soldiers were now aware of someone, whose mean was to obviously destroy their weapons, was present in the city. The commander of the group turned to his soldiers. "Find the damn fool who did this and bring him to me! Alive!" "What if it's a woman, or a kid?"

"I don't care what the hell they are, bring them here!"

The Imperial soldiers nodded and saluted before running over to check around the city. Locke lowered himself down to the ground more and then hurriedly ran pass the item shop and behind the mayor's house. He had to find a new way to work around the city, his old "way" was ruined now and they were on a lookout for new people or people hanging around. He put his hands over his face to think.

_How can I get around without being seen...wait, a soldier! That's it! I need to get an Imperial suit_. He laughed. _Easier said than done, Locke!_ He got up and dug through his pouch for any stun powders and couldn't find a single one. He only found a sleeping dart, which he supposed was good enough.

He rounded the corner and spotted a soldier in greens and darker grays talking to a lower grunt in blue and reds. Something about…_a general? What?_ Locke leaned down behind their charge of weapons and listened in but they spoke too silently.

"Lord Kefka said the great Ice General will be executed today…man, she might have done some evil things, but I can't help but feel she shouldn't be killed." The green soldier muttered, rubbing his neck tiredly. "I was up all night watching her and have been thinking about it. You said you wanted to free her, right?" the blue and red soldier nodded. "How about tonight's shift, we go in and release her?"

"I don't know, Marshal…Kefka has Commander Blackwood watching the area. It will have tough security…"

"Well Jax, she's going to be killed tomorrow. It's either tonight or never and I don't think I can survive knowing I let this happen, even if she committed treason." Locke's foot slipped and made a sound, catching their attention. "Did you hear that Marshal?" he nodded.

"Aw man…okay, I'll check it out. Watch the weapons." He picked his short sword up and started down the hall. When he disappeared around the corner, Marshal sighed and leaned against the weapon barrels. Locke waited for the blue and red soldier to make it completely around the corner before he got up and grabbed the soldier's head and hit it strong enough, against the railing of the Terrance to knock him out.

Once he took care of the unconscious soldier, he got his dart ready to use. When he got back to the green soldier, he saw the man heading up the hall, most likely to search for his friend. Swearing, Locke got up and stepped a few feet back, ready to chuck the dart at the man. When Marshal came around the corner and spotted him, he gasped.

"What are you—" but it was too late. The dark hit his throat and within seconds, his eyes dropped close and he collapsed to the floor. _Great,_ Locke thought. _Now I get to be the lucky guy to wear his clothes…_When suited up, Locke sighed. _Too big!_ It was nearly falling off, but he guessed it didn't really matter. He was lucky to get the suit of a higher rank than a grunt or trainee. He studied his name tag and nodded, hurrying pass the halls before the soldiers could wake up, which he hoped wasn't until after he left the city. The other soldiers and higher ups immediately noticed him leaving his station to which another leader came up to stop him.

"Where are you going, soldier?" Locke swallowed back the urge to run or fight.

"I was just informed that I had shift duty tonight…again." Good thing he heard the discussion the soldiers had.

"Ah, Marshal…that's right, you're on duty again tonight. Commander Brigg actually needs you at the wine seller's house. Head over there quick, he's testy today. Someone attacks our generator, he's pissed."

Locke nodded. "Yes sir, I'll head there now…exactly where is it?"

The leader sighed. "Damn it Marshal, you just went there the other day! It's just south of the item shop. Go on now!"

"Right, right…" he lowered his helmet and set off to the wine seller's house. _Damn…the soldiers are so up-tight._ He stopped by the wine seller's house and tightened his armor. Hoping he wouldn't get caught in his lie, he banged on the door. It opened to a soldier.

"About time! Head down the stairs and to your post, Marshal!" when the soldier pushed pass him and headed down the streets to a small group of grunts, Locke closed the door and locked it. _I don't have much time. _

_I need to stop whatever the reason they are here in South Figaro._ Locke pressed pass the little boy on the staircase and slowly turned half way around to head down the rest of the stairs, fully knowing the little boy was staring. Perhaps he grew to know the real Marshall and knew something was up? Ignoring the suspicions he had right then, Locke peaked through the door at the bottom of the stairs and saw two guards arguing about something. One of them shoved the other into the wall and then turned angrily and headed down the hall.

The other shook his head and hurried after him. Taking his chance, Locke opened the door and headed in, but before he could go any further, he heard them heading back. He needed to hide.

He could see the wooden ceiling above the soldiers and the wood railings and decided to wait up on the railings until they headed into one of the rooms in the hall. While he seated himself better on the railings, he heard the one of the soldiers. "Where is the next watchout?" he looked around.

"He was supposed to be here by now."

"Maybe he was called off…? It wouldn't be the first time we were left in charge of watching the general again." _General?_ Locke thought, worried. _Which? Kefka Palazzo? Leo Cristophe…Celes Chere_?

He hoped it wasn't Kefka, he didn't want to deal with that clown right then, not when he promised Terra he'd come back and protect her until her memory came back. He waited for one of the guards to leave and the other to take his guard inside of the room. _A general is being held? Is this the reason they are in town? Which general and why?_

He jumped down and headed over to the door to take a peak. Inside, to the far back, was a blond haired woman shackled to the wall. She was in tattered clothes and he could see scars and blood on the exposed parts of her arms and legs. To the right, sleeping on a chair, was the soldier from before. He was snoring, his hand clutched over a necklace with a key on the end. There was a bucket to the left of the shackled woman, rags, stained with blood, hanging over the sides. Locke's stomach turned as he realized they had been torturing the poor woman and then it hit him…it wasn't just any woman, but Celes Chere of the Empire.

The same general he heard so many blood filled stories about, the same Celes that allegedly burned a whole town down single handedly three years ago. He turned away from the door but paused. Could he really leave her to be tortured? No woman, no matter what she had done, deserved that sort of punishment. He gripped his hands.

What would Edgar think? What would he do if he arrived back at Narshe with Celes Chere? He'd say "_I'm gonna kill myself a thief!_" is what he'd say. Locke sighed. He had to help her, no matter what Edgar or anyone would do to him. He reached into his pocket and found his lockpicking tools and broke into the room, rather quietly.

The soldier was still snoring, very loudly when Locke snuck pass to check on the woman. He leaned down and lifted her face up so he could see. She was unconscious with bruises all over her face and a long cut down her lips. They must have just recently stopped torturing to have their discussion in the hallway. Disgusted and raged, Locke started to pick the chains, but soon found his efforts worthless. He needed the key…which was around the soldier's neck. When he stood and started a slow crawl toward the sleeping guard, he heard movement behind him and paused when a broken voice echoed.

"Who is there?" the voice was weak, but it still held a demanding tone. He turned to see that the general had woken up, but she couldn't look up.

Locke shushed her. "Shush…I'm here to help." He whispered, gently ripping the key off the rope around his neck.

"Who are you…?" she felt her left arm fall free and then the right. When he freed her fully, she glanced up to look upon the face of her "savior". He was dressed in armor. "Aren't you a little short for a soldier?"

"Oops!" he chuckled as he took the helmet off. "I'm not a soldier, I'm Locke Cole. I'm with the Returners."

"Returners…?" she gasped. "I'm—or at least I was General Celes. Now I'm nothing but a traitor…" she looked down. Locke grinned. "Well….let's get going, traitor." He leaned down to lift her up on her legs. "You'd….take me with you?" she asked, stunned. He nodded, a wide, goofy grin on his face.

"…No. I can barely walk. I'd never make it out of here. I appreciate it, but…Even if you got me out, you wouldn't be able to protect me. I'm better off waiting here for the executioner." She muttered as she ripped her arm free of his grip. "At least that way I'll keep my pride…" Locke shook his head as he grabbed her arm again.

"I'll protect you!" another grin took over his face. "Trust me! You'll be fine! Let's go!" Just as Locke was about to toss the key, she stopped him.

"Wait! This soldier, he had a key…?"

"I snatched it. Why?"

"He used it to get in and out of here…I wasn't drugged enough when they brought me in, I managed to catch where they used it." Celes almost collapsed to the floor, but got her balance again. "Keep…it."He nodded and helped her straighten up.

"Come on, let's go. You look nearly dead." He whispered as he led her outside.

When Locke managed to get Celes out of South Figaro, he didn't know where to head to let her rest her bones and so he could treat her to some potions. They were hiding in a thin blanket of trees, waiting for a new plan. Celes was tending to her wounds in a manner that suggested, to Locke, that she took care of herself all her life. A sudden grip of sadness, even pity, engulfed him. How many times did she treat her wounds and how bad were they?

He watched as she took a thin roll of wrappings and tied it swiftly and firmly, around the worse of the cuts and bruises on her arms and exposed legs. She was dressed in a horridly torn brown rag and her hair was down. He coughed as he adverted his eyes. "What happened to your clothes?" he asked, looking back at South Figaro. He heard her scoff.

"They took them away. No need to dress as a general when you a traitor."

"You speak like you miss your position," Locke muttered and she looked away, he was obviously right. "Shouldn't their quick punishment toward you show you how wrong the Empire is?"

"I could care less about the Empire," she pulled herself up, tiredly. "The Empire isn't the thing I will miss. It is the good people who were behind it. How do you think I became a traitor? I worked against them." she shook her head when he shuffled around.

"So you betrayed the Empire on purpose?"

"Of course I did!" she shouted, turning around to glare at him. "How does one become a traitor by accident? They did things I would not associate myself with and worked against them...and now I'm nothing more than what The Returners...you are, to the Empire."

"If that's the case," Locke pushed himself straight. "You should join me. I'm heading to Narshe."

"The mining town?" she asked, confused. "What business do you, a Returner member, have in a broken down village like that? The place hardly makes enough..."

"Exactly why you and your Empire didn't suspect it," he laughed. "My friends have headed over there. I was to accompany them, but I was sent to South Figaro to distract the army." he crossed his arms and looked down, thinking.

Celes lightly, and dryly, laughed. "You were sent to South Figaro to bring down the army? All by yourself?"

"No...more like 'break and smash' a few important things of theirs, which I sorta managed. I blew up their town generator." Celes laughed at him.

"That would have worked if you got all three of them," she looked out of the forest toward South Figaro. "Did you get the two perched behind the town wall?" he swore. "As I thought. Then you only delayed them a bit. Even with that generator's destruction, they can still carry on their mission."

"Mission? What mission?" Locke walked over. "Do you know of it?" he laid a hand on her shoulder to turn her to him, but she shrugged him off.

"Of course I do," she snapped. "They weren't exactly secretive when they were screaming their plans outside my cell room."

"Well, what is it? I need to stop it-"

"You won't be able to stop a attack on Narshe." he froze as she continued. "They will have Magitek Armor, soldiers, armored hounds, soldiers with powerful relics and large platoons."

"All of that for Narshe!" he gasped. "I have to get back there and warn them!" he started off but stopped and then turned. "Will you join me? I have someone I wanted to meet you."

Celes laughed. "Who would I have to meet?"

"She's a friend of mine...she was used by the Empire. A crown had been placed on her head...I was hoping you two could meet, I'm sure she'd like to know you." he smiled at her curious face. She sighed, but reluctantly agreed to go. "Good! Come with me, I think I know where we can rest and get you some better clothes!"

[-]

The warm wind wafted over the front of the raft and chilled the small group of people perched about it. It was late in the day, the sun just starting to lower and choke out its rays. The water was warm and the wind matching, keeping the small group's throats dry. The temperature was horridly dry, so warm...everyone stripped out of as much clothes as they could without exposing themselves. Even Edgar and Bannan had stripped off their jackets, capes and vests and sweaters to get colder, but it didn't do so well.

They had the River as a water source, but it moved so quickly, that it was dangerous to lean over to refill their water-skins. So the few times they did, they stretched the water to the point that it nearly killed one of the soldiers who fainted. Edgar, alarmed, dangerously got the raft to pull to the side so he could hold it to the sides until they filled all possible containers full of water. When he decided to do this, he had turned to see Terra's face nearly as dark as her clothes and it startled him, so he risked his own life to provide water for them all.

By the time the sun left the sky and it grew dark, Edgar and another soldier managed to get the raft land on a large chunk of land. Their need of the raft was no more. As Edgar and the men cleared the last of their stuff off the raft, the king turned around to see what Terra was doing and found her presence gone. Alarmed, he turned to Bannan.

"Where did Terra run off to?"

Bannan didn't seem to know and looked around. "She was here a moment ago...she must have wanted to explore. The girl is very fascinated by things, remember she can't remember a lot."

How could Edgar forget that? How could Bannan remind him as if he threw that part of Terra's life away? It annoyed him, but he didn't say anything. "Do you think she'll be okay on here on?"

"She should. She's a smart lass, very resourceful I think."

Thinking is a good answer, Edgar thought bitterly. "I will go look for her-"

"No, no, no..." Bannan stopped him, getting up. "I'll look for her. You stay here and help the others." nodding in reluctance, Edgar looked away, hating the feeling he got at just waiting around while Terra was out alone...

When Bannan found the young woman, she wasn't far, at all. She was sitting under a rock ledge, obviously aware of the time as she was staring at the sky. "Miss Terra?" she looked up. "What in heavens are you doing out here all alone?"

"I...just wanted to think."

"Alone?" he whispered, concern flooding his eyes. "You have friends among us, you could speak to us if you need to."

"Oh...its okay, really." she rose. "I just wanted a little time to think about some things."

"Do you feel differently about agreeing to help now?" he asked warmly as he escorted her back to the camp site. She was walking beside him, looking down as they walked. He sensed her distress and was about to tell her to forget his questions, but she hesitated.

"No...I t-thought that being alone, I could remember something."

"Oh, I see." his voice strained. "I'm terribly sorry for your memory lose, dear." she smiled.

"Its okay, Locke promised I'd remember everything soon...and I believe him."

[-]

The grassy hills and plains of the Figaro border was vast. Green, sunny and bouncing with all sorts of life. The grassy plains was familiar to Locke, he practically grew up among the plains. But the fallen general seemed completely thrown by nature. She was quiet and brooding...he hoped she wasn't always like that. With a turn of his head, he saw her following behind him less than ten feet away. She had her arms crossed and a dark, thoughtful expression on her face.

"We're close," Locke said back to her. "Once we get better prepared, it shouldn't take too long to travel to Narshe, especially if we don't waste a lot of time."

"I take it you've been through these plains?" it seemed more like a demanding question, but Locke guessed it was just her personality...He smiled.

"Of course...well, I've lived on a very similar plain until I was a late teenager and then I started to work for the Returners...here I am!"

"Then you should know it will take us a week to pass into the territory of Figaro Castle." he paused. She obviously didn't want to know in the sense in which Locke answered. He sighed, but turned to look at her.

"Don't worry about that," he grinned and pointed to a mountain range. "You see that? Once we get pass the South Figaro cave line, I know a secret that will get us to Narshe quicker."

* * *

"How far as we from Narshe?" Bannan asked Edgar when they stopped for a quick break. Edgar shrugged.

"...I haven't traveled these plains in years, it was only after Terra arrived that I left. Before that, I only went to South Figaro via Chocobo and that only took a day or two...If I had to estimate, I'd say a few days." the king glanced over at the small group of people and saw the drag of weariness on the faces of the men and Terra. "The trip tires them even more every day...I think we need to send the men over to the castle."

"That would put us and them, in danger." Bannan protested, a little alarmed at the king's statement. "How far away is the castle?"

"A day, maybe two." Edgar sighed as he watched the group. "Its shorter than the trip to Narshe and the men need to regroup. We can handle the journey back to Narshe by ourselves."

"I see..." the wise old man rubbed his chin as he thought it over. "And you're sure they can make it? Alone?"

"They are men of the Returners, they can do it." After a few second of silence, Bannan nodded and agreed to the plan and asked when he would tell them. "Now, I suppose. If we get a head start, they can even warn the castle about the Returner Hideout being attacked." Edgar headed over and called for their attention and explained the plan. At first, they were confused and then they were a little worried. But after being assured they would be okay, they decided to do it. Terra raised her hand after everyone was done talking. "Yes, m'lady?"

"When we...head back to Narshe, what will happen? What do we do...?" her voice betrayed her attempt to hide her worry.

"We'll talk to the Elder of the town...please worry not about that, Terra. I'll make sure everything goes smoothly."

"When will Locke be there? Do you think he's already back?" this time she didn't try to mask her concern...her concern for the thief. Edgar smiled.

"Cole may know these hills up and down, but we had a large headstart. The Lethe River carried us through a four day hike through the caves of the hideout and then another few days of mountain trekking. Cole will most likely arrive a bit later after us."

"Do you think he managed to do what he needed?"

"Yes, of course Terra." Edgar frowned. She really is worried about him... "Don't worry Terra, I'm positive Cole is fine."

"What about Sabin? When will we see him again?"

Edgar's face darkened. "I'm...not sure when. But I am sure the big lug is perfectly fine. Who knows, he probably managed to get to Narshe before us."

* * *

_Gah, I'm terribly sorry for the late update and the sorta fast pace chapter, but I had to get enough into this one before the next chapters. I hope it wasn't too bad... :(_

_Please review and thank you very much for reading! :3_


	14. Long way home?

**Author Notes:** _Finished! I hope its good... xD_

_I had to apply some small changes to the scenes. Like the ghost part for story purposes and decided to leave out Seigfreid for the moment, as when I play I don't get the chest (and least in the last play I didn't) in hopes of a different story piece. Could be wrong, but I wanted to experiment. I also, changed a bit of the train cars, but that's all I believe. I hope you enjoy it, its a massive sized chapter that I revised and rewrote six times until I became after with the piece I wrote after I got out of the hospital lol_

_If you have any suggestions or the like, I'll be glad to read them! Drop me a review or a Pm! :D_

Chapter 14 : Long way home?

Something was terribly irritating him while he lay on the sandy beaches. His body was too sore and his head hurt too much to open his eyes. He just wanted to sleep it away and hope it was enough. But it was so irritating. Something was shaking his arm. He wanted to wake up and see what it was, yet his eyes wouldn't obey the command and remained shut.

_Why can't I open my eyes…?_ He thought, and then weakly chuckled_. I must be pretty hurt if I can't open my eyes._ The thought of actually being hurt by something seemed a challenge to him; rest up and get better, he wins the challenge. And then there was the thrilling possibility he wouldn't get well and wouldn't be able to wake up again. This didn't scare him, it fueled him to get up and stop that irritating push at his arm! With a grunt, he focused all of his energy into waking up. He really did hate that irritating push! When he managed the strength, his eyes fluttered opened weakly.

Rolling his head to the right, he saw nothing. _Oh yes, that's not the arm…_and then he rolled his head to the left and saw a large black dog sniffing around his arm. When the dog spotted him awake, it growled furiously and then turned and shot off toward the east. _A dog…? How far did the Lethe river take me?_ He wondered as he tried to push himself up. Pain seared up from his lower back to his shoulders. "Gah…" he growled, frustrated. _Just a scratch.…just a scratch_. He tried to rise again and completed the movement, though stiffly. He rubbed at his neck as he searched his surroundings. It was a wide, open field of flush, green grass. Behind him, the Lethe river - one of its sectors - ran pass in a swift, hard movement. Where was he? He had never been here before, and didn't remember reading about such a place in his teachings under Duncan. All he knew was that he needed to find a town and get to Narshe and then meet up with his brother! He decided going east was his best option, and then north if he couldn't find anything.

Sabin had found a small little house by the near end of the day. The sun was lowering behind the mountains, the sky was a shimmering orange and blue, and the bitter heat of the day had finally begun to lighten up on his back. He hoped there would be an inn and maybe a pub to quench his dry throat, but it was just a little brown house with a light brown roof. Surrounding it was cliffs and trees, shrubs and barrels. Running from the patches of trees from the left and right of the house, were old, brown fences that looked hundreds of years old. Across from the door, to the left, was an old, grass covered well. Beside the well, pulling water up, was a man in all black leather and a mask. By his feet, was a large black-brown dog sniffing around aimlessly. Sabin recognized the dog and frowned. _That's the same mutt that was sniffing at me early. Poor thing must be hungry. Hmm, maybe he will know how to get back to Narshe._

When Sabin attempted to tap the man's shoulder, his hand was grabbed and twisted around quickly and with ease. Growling, Sabin glared into the blue eyes of the shadowed man. They were calm, collected…dark. "Look…I was only…trying to ask a question! No need for hostility!" the shadowed man relaxed his grip. "You…another traveler?" the man nodded before he let Sabin's hand go and nudged his head, indicating to ask his question. Sabin flexed his hand open and closed a few times and then rubbed it as he spoke. "You don't happen to know how I could get to Narshe, do you?" the man stood silent and Sabin hesitated, unsure if he should continue. "I got separated from my friends…"

Just when Sabin thought he wouldn't reply, the man sighed. "The Empire has set up camp just beyond the forest to the east."

Sabin's face flushed, and then his eyes flared. "The Empire! What are they doing here?"

"They seem to have their eyes on Doma Castle." The man was still calm.

"So Doma's next, huh…? But I need to get to Narshe right away!" Sabin wasn't sure why this shadowed man decided to share this information with him when he said he needed to get to Narshe.

"Your only road passes through Doma. I can take you there if you'd like. Just know that I may leave you at any time…" The shadowed man turned for his dog, whistled and then looked back at Sabin, expecting an answer. Sabin looked away, thinking. _Who knows what I could run into…groups of Imperial troops, thieves…bah, I'd best be safe. My brother is expecting me_. Sabin nodded and agreed, finally getting the man's name and a whisper. "Death is always just a step behind me…"

It was noon the next day when Shadow, the man in black, announced they were in sight of the Imperial Camp near Doma castle. Sabin had run up beside him and hunkered down near the man and his giant dog to watch the soldiers below running their errands, patrolling and preparing for another assault on the castle of Doma and her citizens. The camp wasn't the largest and definitely not the best the Empire could send out, Sabin knew, but it was enough to overtake the castle if the Domans didn't eat, rest, drink or prepare.

"What do we do?" Sabin whispered, seeing their destination across from the camp over a narrow bridge of land. "we can't possible sneak pass them all without being caught."

Shadow's eyes were moving from one soldier to the next in seconds, watching them like hawks. He paid no attention to Sabin's remark and lifted his hand to his dog and pointed to four guards watching the south entrance. With a pat on the dog's back, it was off in a silent run. Sabin watched as the dog skillfully snuck up behind the barrels and waited for the perfect instant to take two guards out and drag them out of sight. It moved up more, behind a giant iron suit and waited for the next two to make their rounds. With a leapt of great agility and silence, he struck them both down and dragged them out of sight, and he too. Minutes passed and Sabin was afraid the dog had been caught, but then it appeared beside Shadow, calm and collected as his master, as if nothing had happened. Amazed and shocked by the animal's beastly nature and precision, Sabin subconsciously reached a hand up to his throat, afraid it would turn on him. Shadow gave the dog a pat on the head, slipped him a round meaty treat and said, "Good work Interceptor."

"Now what?"

"We need to move in and hide the bodies better, and then we'll secure the entrance and wait for another chance to move it. There will be no way around a battle though, so be prepared." Sabin nodded and followed Shadow and his partner dog through the dead bushes up to the dead bodies in which they hid deeper out behind discarded trees the Imperial troops cut down for their camp. Once they finished they hurried back to the camp and then scurried along barrels and tents until they reached the entrance. Sabin was pulled to a stop and then pushed behind a dug up guard by Shadow. "Sssh." He muttered, pointing ahead of them. Two guards had walked close to each other, acting as if they were doing something important, but instead chatting.

"Hey, did you hear?" asked a tan soldier with brown eyes as he pulled on the sleeve of another, whom's face was covered with a cloth to keep cool.

"Oh, you mea—" the tan soldier put a hand against his mouth.  
"Shh! Keep your voice down!" the one with tan skin and brown eyes whispered as he glanced around for anyone who might have heard. "If Kefka catches us, we're toast!" he looked around once more, and then said, flushed. "They say Kefka's plotting to drive away General Leo so he can take over his position as general…"

The cloth covered soldier gasped, pale. "Don't even joke about something like that. If that freak becomes our general, I'll quit!"

"Ssh! Ssh! What if he hears you? You'll be locked up!" the tan one muttered, worried for his friend. The other one sighed and raised his hands as if he gave up.

"All right, all right!" he glanced to his sight and gasped when he saw Kefka charging out of a tent, his face absolutely full of delight. "Uh-oh…here he comes! Quick, back to your post!" the men scattered apart, back to their posts hoping not to have been seen. Kefka charged down the slope, a evil grin on his face as he pulled the tanned soldier around toward him.

"Hey, you!" he barked. "You keeping a sharp lookout? Hmm?" The soldier jumped, scared but nodded as he replied.

"Yes, sir! Kefka, sir! What a pleasant surprise! How are you today, sir?" he paled when Kefka started to laugh, his eyes shimmering evilly.

"Please, spare me your petty small talk! Just to your job!" he turned, but looked over his shoulder back at the tanned troop. "And don't let me catch you slacking, or I'll make you regret being born!" and then he headed off, bickering at two guards by the bridge and then turned around the corner, gone. The cloth soldier jumped and ran near the tanned one, shaking his curled fist at Kefka's disappearance.

"Hmph! Like we're gonna listen to you, you pompous little…" he took a calming breath and then shook his head. "What's wrong with that guy, anyway?" he asked his friend, passing him a curious glance. "It's like General Leo got all the good qualities a man could have, and Kefka got stuck with the rest…" The tanned soldier growled and punched his friend on the arm.

"Shh! I just told you to keep it down! How many times are you gonna make me say it?" he looked about once more, relaxing just a bit. "You've gotta be more careful! General Leo may be a decent man, but Kefka…that guy's twisted!" The other laughed.

"Tell me about it!" Just then a dirty soldier in black ran up, his breathing shallow. He pointed at the two.

"You there! We're about to storm the castle. The two of you will join the assault squad. Get moving!" and then he turned and ran off again, over the bridge and around the corner. The two soldiers followed him closely.

Sabin growled. "Kefka…he's here." He gripped a ball of sand, his face dark red with fury. "We need to take him out!" Shadow shook his head as he stood a bit.

"Now is not the time, you'll be overrun. We need to get out of camp and fast, before they find us."

"You don't understand, that man…he…he is—"

"—I understand perfectly who he and the Empire is," he snapped, his eyes furious. "Now is not the time I said! You agreed for my help and you'll receive it, but only if you listen to me!" Sabin lowered his head, acknowledging him. "Good, now follow me and don't make a sound. If one guard happens to see us, we can easily kill him. But if more than two see us, we're doomed, do you understand?" the kind monk nodded. "Follow me over the bridge and to that tent," he pointed across the river bed to a tent stationed at the base of a large hill. "and then we'll go around the corner and across the bridge of land. We'll be done then." He stood and ran off, expecting Sabin to follow without command just as his dog did.

When they made it across the bridge and to the tent, Shadow stopped his team and pointed ahead. A soldier was talking to an elderly looking man in green and blue clothes. His head was shaved clean on the left and right side, leaving a strip of yellow, aged hair in the center. He had gentle eyes, creases and lines near his eyes and on his forehead, a giant, iron sword buckled to his side. Sabin was amazed…it was General Leo! In the flesh! The soldier bowed his head before he began.

"General Leo, sir. The Domans appear to be playing a waiting game."

General Leo slightly frowned, his yellow mustache sinking lower. "So, they're using their favorite stragegy…" he fingered his mustache and then heaved a sigh. The soldier looked uneasy as he started once more, unsure if the General would agree.

"General…we're ready to storm the castle as soon as you give the order…" the elderly general gasped, his face red.

"Patience! If we attack now, there will be too many unnecessary casualties."

But…General!" the soldier shouted, his eyes shining. "I'm prepared to lay down my life for the Empire at any time!" he gripped the sword hilt buckled to his side as he spoke, courage and stupidity ringing in his young voice. Leo sighed and turned away, suddenly tired and saddened. He looked over at the young man.

"You're from Maranda, are you not?" the soldier nodded.

"Huh? I mean, yes, sir, I am, but…why do you ask, sir?" General Leo looked down, his voice serious and his face grievous.

"You would have me go there and deliver news of your passing to your family?" the soldier gasped. "What would I say when I handed them your sword? How could I even look at them?" Leo turned back to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "You're a human being before you're a soldier. Don't be so eager to throw away your life." He patted his shoulder. "Emperor Gestahl wouldn't want you to die for nothing."

With tears of admiration and strength, the soldier nodded. "Yes, sir!" he charged off into the tent behind them, a smile on his face. Just as General Leo was about to leave, another grunt ran up, gasping for air.

"General Leo, sir!" he handed Leo a note, sealed by the Emperor himself. "A carrier pigeon arrived from Emperor Gestahl!" The General snatched the note away and started to read, his face bunching up in confusion.

"What…?" he muttered, finishing the letter. "The emperor summons me. I must return at once!" the soldier nodded.

"Understood sir."

Leo shook his hand. "I'll leave the rest in your hands."  
"Yes, sir."  
Leo walked up to him and whispered. "Listen to me…Don't rush things. That's all I ask."  
"Sir! Leave it to us, sir!"  
With one last shake of the hands, Leo said "I'm counting on you." And departed back for the tent.

Sabin shifted on his feet. "So that's General Leo…" I've never seen him before… "He may be an enemy, but he seems like a decent man." What would Edgar do, if he knew I said that? Shadow gave a weak laugh.

"If you see him as such, you're an idiot. All Imperial soldiers are cunning little murderers." Just as he stood, he sat back down as Kefka came walking happily up the road to stand near the tent Leo had just entered to gaze off into the river.

"Once Leo's gone, I can turn this water into a flowing river of poison!" he started a fit of giggles, his eyes watering up. "Anyone who touches it'll be pushing up daisies! Hee-hee…" he kicked stones in the river, watching the water splash up as the stones broke through the surface. A hand touched his shoulder and he jumped in fright, screeching. When he saw the face of Leo, he growled, embarrassed.

Leo paid no attention to him and his anger as he spoke. "I'm afraid the emperor has called me back home. Try not to cause any trouble in my absence." Kefka turned his face upward in a fancy "hmpf" gesture.

"I'll take care of things faster than you ever would!"

Leo's temper flared. "Nothing dirty, Kefka!" he turned. "They may be our enemies, but they're still human beings. Try now to forget that."

Kefka sneered, sickened by Leo's "qualities". "We needn't show mercy to those who side with the Returners." He giggled. "…which is good, because I never seem to have any of the stuff." Leo shook his head and took off, walking pass the place Shadow, Sabin and Interceptor were hidden without seeing them. Kefka laughed as he turned back to the poisonous river. "Yes, you just go off and be a good little boy…" The mad clown turned and saw a soldier returning. He ran up to him and grinned. "Is the poison ready?" he wanted to make sure the poison was thick enough to actually kill.

"But, General Leo said—"

"—Leo's not here anymore. I'm in charge now. Fork it over!" he snapped, jumping up and down like a child. He took the poison, rather ripped it, from the soldier's hands.

"Some of our people are being held prisoner inside the castle!" he protested, sickened. "If any of them were to drink the water…"

Kefka turned back to him, his eyes flaring with laughter and childish reason. "Who cares?" he asked, shaking his head wildly. "they're the ones who were stupid enough to get caught by the enemy!" Kefka skipped right pass him and headed toward the bridge, toward Sabin and his group.

How could someone be so evil? So…so inhuman! Sabin jumped up right before Kefka, who screeched like a scared little child and stepped back as the monk started to yell. "You're inhuman!"

Stepping back just enough to pull out his weapon, Kefka snarled. "Gah…! Pests at every turn!" He swung the weapon around over his head. "Guess I'll have to take care of you, too!"

The three, Shadow, Sabin and Interceptor, split up as Kefka swung the spiked ball at them. It smashed into the cliff side to their right and broke chunks of rocks free. The clown twirled around and lunched the weapon forth again, this time nearly catching Sabin's back. Rolling away from Kefka, Sabin jumped to his feet and jumped up toward the stacked barrels, to avoid being struck.

Shadow flung a set up knives at Kefka, but the clown threw up his cape. The knives hit the cape and fell to the ground, as if Kefka had armor underneath the fabric. The laughing clown swung the spiked ball toward Shadow, but before the ball could smash into his chest, Interceptor jumped off from the cliff above and landed on the middle of the chain so the ball fell to the floor in a load cracking sound. Kefka snarled, pulled the weapon back and began another swing, but Sabin flung his fist against the side of his arm. The clown cried out and jumped back, turned and ran. Sabin growled, chasing after him.

"Kefka! Wait!"

Laughing as he ran, Kefka mocked. " 'Wait', he says! Do I look like a waiter?" he charged off around the corner.

"He's heading for the river!" Sabin shouted to his crew. "We have to stop him, quick!" they ran around the corner and spotted Kefka resting against Magitek suits, panting. The circled him, and he gasped.

"…you just don't give up, do you?" Sabin answered with a flying fist, but the mad clown avoided it and tried to fling his spiked weapon at the monk, but Interceptor snapped at his arm, causing the clown once again to cry out in pain and run off. Sabin once again chased after the clown while Shadow lingered behind, shaking his head.

As he ran from the bulky monk, Kefka cried out. "Gah! How long do you expect me to put up with this? Next time I won't hold back!" Just then he spotted and a soldier working and jumped behind him, sniveling. "Oh, gripe! This is getting tiresome. Hey, you! Handle the rest!" he pushed the soldier toward the oncoming monk.

Kefka was leaning over the river, pouring the bottles of poison into the luscious water, giggling to himself. "Hee-hee…Nothing beats the sweet music of hundreds of voices screaming in unison!" as the last of the poison drifted through the river bed, Kefka erupted into laughter. "Uwee-hee-hee!"

"Sir Cyan!" a voice called out, worried.

* * *

Standing on the edges of the castle wing, watching the Imperial camp to the east, was a tall, old man with a long, raven colored hair tied in a short pony tail. He was clad in blue and blue armor with a long katana secured safely to his side. His face was old, withered with battle and knowledge. His dark brown eyes were hidden underneath bushy, black eyebrows set against tanned skin. His soft eyes turned from the smaller camp to the soldier calling him. He hurried down the steps until he stood beside his soldier.

"There's a great deal of activity in the Imperial Camp." Cyan glanced ahead of him, toward the largest camp. "I think they may be preparing another assault!"

Cyan noticed the water and frowned, rubbing his chin. "Hmm…? Does the water not look a bit…odd?" The soldier beside him raised his hand to cover his eyes from the sun. He noticed it too, but what happened next made him forget. They watched as, one by one, soldiers began falling to their knees and backs, gasping for air, bleeding from the nose and mouth and the skin around the eyes turning black. Horror struck Cyan as he watched two little kids hiding behind their mother drop to the floor, dying. The mother too, was dying, but she was clinging to her children, crying and coughing until finally, she died. _What…what is happening?_ The soldier beside him broke him from his trance. "Sir Cyan!"

_This all…it couldn't be…? How could…they?_ "It must be…" he eyes went back to the water and then understanding hit him. "Poison!"

The soldier gasped. "What low-down, contemptible…!" The soldier shook his hand at the camp, swearing he would personally kill them all for what they have done. Suddenly, Cyan jumped up.

"We must warn the king!" he ran off ahead, barged through the door and hurried down the flight of stairs. When he made it to the hall room, the soldier barged in from behind Cyan and took a breath.

"To the king, with all haste!"

"Yes! The throne room is just ahead!" he took off in a sprint, pushed the two doors open with all his might and ran toward the throne, his heart racing. Tears filled his eyes as he saw his lordship, the king, laying face down by the statues that guarded the throne. He was dressed in a regal red and green outfit, his honey-brown hair stuck to his face in drenches of sweat. Cyan gasped as he leaned down and helped his lord up, on his back. "Your Highness!" he called out, holding his face up so he could look into his king's wandering eyes.

The king coughed, blood dripping down his chin. "Who's there…?"

With a cry, Cyan answered with: "Cyan, Your Excellency!" he realized the king couldn't see him.

"Oh, Cyan…My sight is failing…I cannot see your face…" he reached his hand up to grab for his face, tears filling his own eyes.

Cyan took his hand and gripped it, trying to stop his sobs. "Excellency! Please, you must be strong!" The king gripped his hand and coughed again, trying to gather strength to speak without faulting.

"Cyan…" he took another breath. "You have defended this realm since the days of my father before me…I thank you…for your service." He groaned, taking his hand away to hold his chest."F-forgive me…I failed to protect our kingdom…"

Cyan shook his head, trying to keep his king talking. "No, Excellency, the fault lies not with thee!"

The king paid his knight no attention, and said in a dying breath. "I fear for your family…Ohhh…my chest burns…" he took a breath. "with every breath…"

Helping his king up to breath better, Cyan gripped his shoulder. "Speak not, my lord! Save thy strength!" he shook his head, wildly as he coughed up blood.

"Go…to your family…" he coughed once more before his breathing weakened and then slowly stopped. His hand fell off his chest and to the floor, his eyes wide…dead. Cyan's eyes overflowed with tears.

"Excellency…" he stood up, looking down at the king's body. Anger and sadness swelled up inside him. The soldier ran in then, slowing when he saw the scene before him.

"Sir Cyan…" his eyes glistened.

"There may still be survivors in the castle!" Cyan barked, trying to calm himself and be rational.

"Let's split up and search then." The soldier ran off with Cyan.

Cyan pushed the door to his family's room open softly. He could hear the fire inside roaring with life and the smell of his wife's beef stew cooking. He heard the music player he got his son playing as well, gently. When he walked into the room, he saw them. His wife had fallen off the chair by the window and onto her face. He ran over and turned her over on her back. "Elayne!" he shook her. "Do not leave me, Elayne!" he cried, tears once again filling his eyes. When there was no reply, he stood, his fists clenching. "This…this is unpardonable…" and then he remembered his son in that instant and started toward the bed.

"Owaine!" he pulled the sheets up and saw his son roll off the bed's edge and onto the floor. "No…No…!" He sobbed, nearly falling back. "This is not possible…" the tears flowed down his face. "This cannot be happening!" rage filled his heart. The need to kill made his tears stop, the want to rip Kefka, Leo, the emperor and the Imperial troops into pieces made him grab his Katana. "I will not forgive them…! The Empire must pay for this!" He charged through the doors yelling.

"I am Cyan, retainer to the king of Doma!" he shouted as he charged into their camp, Katana in hand Two soldiers charged at him, but he struck them down easily in two swings. Their heads fell to the floor rolling as the next round of soldiers came.

Sabin came running up, his breathing a bit shallow. He saw the old man fighting against two soldiers, taking them down easily only to have more replace them. _He needs help…_ he realized. He wished Shadow hadn't disappeared when he did, he could use his help right now! He ran up and took one soldier attacking his left by the arm and then lifted him above his head to throw him hard down on the floor in a crunch. The monk glanced at the old man fighting off the last soldier at the moment. "Let me give you a hand!" the old man nodded, desperately.

"I know not thy name or allegiance, but I welcome thy aid!" Just then Shadow appeared, throwing a knife into the back of a soldier who was about to strike Sabin on the head. He fell dead as Cyan shoved his Katana through another soldier's back, killing him instantly. Sabin back grabbed a soldier's sword as he swung it toward him with his palms and then twisted the blade left and then quickly right to rip it from the soldier's hands. With a quick kick, Sabin sent the man to his back. He was unconscious, so Sabin left him alone to punch a man square in his back and then grabbed his neck and twisted until he heard a 'snap'.

With the last gone, Cyan turned and ran to the center, his face stained with blood and tears. "Garr! Who poisoned the river!" he shouted, shaking his Katana in the air, wanting to kill them all. Two soldiers jumped out from behind barrels to attack Cyan, who easily dodged their attacks and began to defend himself. Sabin ran ahead as Shadow circled around them.

He twisted a man's arm back until it cracked and said, "Look, I think we're gonna have to do this together!"

Reluctantly, the old man agreed. "The thought had occurred to me as well!" he finished off the last soldier after Shadow killed two more heading toward them. Tiredly, he turned to Sabin and Shadow. "I am in your debt."

Sabin chucked, scratching his neck sheepishly. "No need for thanks!" he held a hand out toward him, which Cyan took to shake honorably. "I'm Sabin, from the Kingdom of Figaro." He heard shouting and frowned. "We should get out of here!"

Cyan looked horrified. "But I must avenge my family and my countrymen…!"

Sabin growled, shaking him from his grief. "If we stick around any longer, we'll have an entire regiment down our throats!" he heard more shouts and then grabbed Cyan's arm and dragged him up the cliffs toward two suits of Magitek Armor. Shadow sighed and then took off by himself with Interceptor. Cyan hesitated.

"Sir Sabin! What manner of armored beasts might these be?"

Gasping in impatience, Sabin pushed him toward a suit. "I'll explain later! Just climb in!" he pushed him again until he fell into the suit. Startled, Cyan touched the buttons and sticks.

"Sib Sabin! How does one manipulate these abominations?" Sabin jumped into a suit beside him.

"Oh for—" he growled. "Thou art getting to be quite a pain in the—Great, now I'm even starting to talk like you!" he showed Cyan a lever. "Listen! See that lever? The one right by your hand? Push it down!"

When Cyan pushed it down, it went around in crazy circles. "Sir Sabin!" He shouted, frightened. "It appears to be in reverse!"

_Jeez…what's up with this guy?_ Sabin thought as he turned his suit. "Yeah, yeah…Come on!" He pressed a red switch, hoping it was a destructive button and then randomly pressed a few more until the speed dial flew up. He grinned and pulled the levers to maneuver the metal beast. Just then a soldier ran out of the tent, pulling his trousers up and holding them to himself for he forgot his belt. His face was red with embarrassment, but he kept his cool.

"Hey!" he shouted, getting their attention quickly. "What do you think you're doing!" The soldier yelled when the suit Cyan was piloting jumped in a start and knocked the man to the ground. Cyan panicked and pressed different buttons, only to fuel the beast's movements.

"Aahh!" he pulled the lever back and then forth, hearing Sabin yelling for him to stop just behind him. "I cannot stop this monstrosity!" His suit charged toward a group of soldiers practicing a patrol walk and knocked them to the ground and then his suit started to run in small circles. Sabin shouted something over to Cyan about a red button, in which Cyan pressed all three red buttons. The machine hissed, shifted and shook until steam rolled out of the pipes on its back and then it stopped mid-step. Sabin came up behind Cyan, shaking his head just as Shadow appeared in his own suit, Interceptor running along beside him.

_Old people!_ Sabin thought bitterly. _How does Edgar ever put up with them? No no…not all old people are like that…Master was brilliant_. "Okay, let's bust our way out of here!" Shadow paid him no attention as usual and started off, once again expecting Sabin to follow silently just as his dog did. Sighing, Sabin motioned for Cyan to follow and started after the blackened assassin. Sabin paused when he saw Shadow shooting a beam of bright red fire into a group of guards, killing them instantly. Sabin almost puked, but held it together. No…I have to be strong….but they were just kids. No! They murdered people! Its…it's not my fault if they are in the Empire. Sabin closed his eyes and then opened them to march on, this time following behind Cyan who had taken the chance to go ahead and question Shadow.

When Sabin caught up again, he had managed to catch Shadow and Cyan in time to see their assault on two more groups of young men_. But…they are forced into the army…this isn't fair, we shouldn't be killing them._ Frustration filled him as he found himself firing a beam of electricity through a man's chest. _What would Edgar do? What…what would dad do?_ He stopped his suit and took a deep breath. _I need to stay rational…Master said to keep a clear mind. But he also said don't kill off what makes you human, what separates you from beast. How can I do both? I know it's needed to save the world and stop the Empire, but how can I end so many lives? These men have families…wives, children, siblings…how can I be so unjust as to end their life for something they can't control? Is this…is this how Terra feels?_ Sabin watched Shadow kill three more men. _I can stop it…when the Empire falls, no more. But how can I say I'm better than them if I ended so many lives?_ He suddenly remembered something his father had said to him before he had died.

"_Remember son…there isn't always an easy answer to painful situations. There will never be one, only the answer that leads to a better life. To something that will lead the lives of other generations to improve their morals…their standards and what makes them human. Remember that it's impossible, my brave son, to pick an answer that doesn't harm someone else. If you can remember that, you will grow to be a brilliant young mind, just like your mother."_

Tears filled his eyes. _I'll do it dad…I remember now. I will fight, for the great good of the future. Thank you dad, for everything. _He smiled as he stopped on the bridge, his team behind him now. He opened the pilot window and jumped out, suddenly cheerful, hopeful for a better future, ready to find his brother. "Okay, I think we should be safe now!" he shouted, turning to his friends who started to leave the machines. He looked over at Shadow, a small smile on his face. "So, how do I get to Narshe from here?"

Cyan frowned, rubbing his chin. "Narshe?" the two looked over at him. "I believe the only route passes through the forest to the south, but—"

Sabin grinned, jumping into a sturdy pose. "All right!" he looked at the magitek suits with disgust. "If we're going into the woods, I guess we won't be needing these hunks of scrap metal anymore." When Cyan dropped to his feet, Sabin smacked a hand into his back. "Let's get going!"

* * *

Sabin could see the woods not far from the camp and asked Cyan if they were the correct woods. The old man nodded, though his face lost some of its color. "Aye." He frowned. "It is. Should we not prepare first, Sir Sabin?"

"Prepare?" the monk asked, giving the elderly man a strange gaze. "What for? Just a short trip through the woods, right? It doesn't look too big, from this hill." He scratched his neck tiredly as he analyzed the woods.

"I think the old man is worried for the battles, Sabin." Shadow muttered from his seat on a round rock. Interceptor sat at his feet, chewing on a stick. "I heard tales about these woods…Monsters that can leave you unconscious after a sudden mind rip."

"Mind rip?" Sabin asked, frowning.

"Aye," Cyan nodded to the assassin, ignoring the "old man" comment. "The monsters shan't be easy to battle, my Sir."

"They can 'possess' you, in simpler words." Shadow added, standing up. "We'd best be careful. It is only a short trip through the woods, so I don't want time wasted having to knock you out of their grip. Best we ignore and avoid as many battles with those monsters as possible and stop as less as we can."

Sabin nodded, agreeing as he tightened his fighting gloves and tied the sash around his waist tighter. "Alright then, let's go. If any of you spot any of those wicked beasts next to us, shout a word. I know a trick that should keep them at bay."

The woods had left Sabin in an unfriendly feeling mood. It was dark, silent save the hoot of owls and howl or wolves, it was moist with rain that did not dry yet, hot and sticky. The trees were breaking apart, molded to the point where they couldn't stand. Fallen logs and giant mushrooms littered their path way, scattered patches of thick mud and deep puddles made their path difficult and the smell of death filled the air.

They had run into a few of the creatures Cyan and Shadow had warned him about, but nearly all wanted to avoid them and seemed to have been heading to a direction. As they traveled deeper into the forest, they could hear distant hums and voices, which Sabin tried to convince himself was just a trick of some sort, but Shadow had told them to be alert in case of an ambush or some sort.

Cyan was unusually silent, his hand pressed tightly against the handle of his Katana, his eyes wide, his face palm and sticky with sweat not born from heat but from worry. His arms shook and his eyes quickly shot from left to right, searching for anything, anyone who might jump out at them. Sabin noticed his mood and became a little jumpy himself. When Shadow had appeared out of nowhere near his left and whispered that he could see a train, Sabin had nearly jumped out of his skin and thought that he would puke his heart out. Luckily the assassin didn't care for him and ignored his fear and hurried ahead, his dog sniffing around, searching for something his mastered had muttered to him.

Cyan spotted the train and gave a worried 'hmm'. When Sabin asked what was wrong when they arrived by the train, Cyan knew for sure. He jumped up and shouted. "A train!" Sabin and Shadow surrounded him. "I thought all of Doma's railways had been destroyed in the fighting…"

Sabin glanced around and then nodded. Maybe someone got it to work again after the battles… "There could be survivors. Let's take a look inside." Shadow hesitated, not really wanting to look but shrugged. He was interested, despite him hating it. He followed behind Cyan as Sabin backed his giant fists into the door of the train. "Hey!" he smashed the door again and sighed in relief. _Doors aren't locked_. "Looks like we can get in through here."

Suddenly Cyan jumped and grabbed Sabin's arm and tried to yank him back. "Sir Sabin!" he tried to pull him again, but the monk pulled away.

"We can't just wander around out here all day. We have to check inside!"

Cyan's already pale face lost more of its color. "Sir Sabin!"

Sabin shooed him and shook his head as he opened the door. "Don't worry; it'll only take a second!" _Jeez…what's wrong with him? He's been spooked ever since we arrived here. _ He opened the door all the way and walked inside, hearing Cyan call him 'sir' again.

When Sabin arrived inside, everything was new, clean…perfect. There was no sign of battle, blood – nothing! Everything wasn't…right. His head burrowed into lines. "What in the world…?"

Cyan barged in, nearly tripped and grabbed his arm. "We must leave at once!" he pulled at his arm. "This is the Phantom Train!" the train hooted and started up, causing the group to fall to their knees at the sudden jolt. Sabin got up quickly.

"It's moving!" he shouted, ignoring Shadow's 'no duh, idiot' look. Cyan pushed pass him to run to the door.

"We must get off this train at once!" he started to pull on the door, but it wouldn't budge. When Cyan failed, Sabin tried but it wouldn't open. He panicked.

"The door won't open!" he turned to look at Cyan, for more guidance but he saw the old man looking tired, beaten. He asked what was wrong, and the old man answered calmly.

"I fear we are too late." His voice was a mere whisper, his eyes full of grief. Sabin grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.

"What did you say this train was?"

As if they were on a little trip through the beautiful woods, Cyan replied. "This is the Phantom Train…" he gestured at the seats and windows, shaking his head. "It carries the souls of the departed to their…final destination."

Sabin laughed at first. "Wait a second…" he looked around and then back at him. "You're saying this train's giving us a one-way ride to…the afterlife!" he nodded.

"Unless we find a way off, I am afraid that is exactly where we will end up…" Sabin chuckled once more, causing the old man with no hope to stare at him in astonishment.

"Well, I'm afraid that's a trip I'm going to have to pass on!" he grinned and then punched his first into his open hand. A devious spark danced in his eyes. "If it won't let us off, then we'll stop it ourselves. Let's make for the engine."

Cyan grabbed his arm to stop him for a moment. "Sir Sabin, I think it best thy listen—"

"Don't worry Cyan!" he slapped the man's back. "I have everything under control. We'll tear the engine right out of the train!"

"You really think that's smart?" Shadow asked, his eyes watching something outside the train windows. "I think we need to figure out how to stop it without destroying the train. If this really is a vessel for the afterlife, it shouldn't be stopped. We could be overrun by the dead."

Sabin _'hmm'd'_, crossed his arms and started tapping his foot against the wooden deck of the train, a thoughtful glow on his face. If I can't destroy the engine…I can try to stop it. If only Edgar had fallen off with me…I would be able to turn this thing off easily! He sighed, looked at Shadow and uncrossed his arms. "Alright then, I won't destroy the engine. So, do you know anything about train engines?"

"No," he answered quickly. "But I'm sure the engine room will have some sort of manual for it. You can read, can't you?" His simple question, not meant to be taken the way Sabin took it, set the monk ablaze in embarrassment and a little anger.

"Of course I can read!" he snapped. "Alright, to the engine room! I know enough to know that the engine room will be at the front of the train, so let's head on."

Sabin decided to take the lead since Cyan was a little spooked and in a weird mood and Shadow was busy hanging to the back, searching around the rooms they passed by, entered in and rested. There were so many train cabins, so many it seemed Sabin had led them around back to the same train cabin until he spotted a lone cabin, attached to the train but offered no bridge to the next piece. Cyan muttered for them to be careful and Shadow readied his throwing knives as Sabin pushed his weight against the old, noisy door until it cracked under his weight and opened, slowly, to reveal a dark, dusty and cobwebbed full cabin. The sets were bright blue, doubled up and by the windows, but were in the worst condition he remembered seeing on the train. They were torn, bloodied in some areas and lost color in some spots. There were old jackets and women's dressing items still hanging on the wooden frames behind the seats, they too were worn with age and dirtied with dust and webs.

The carpet beneath their feet was thin, worn with constant walk and torn. Blood was spilled on various parts of the carpet, blood that took footprint form in most places. Sabin took a calming breath. This must be where the Imperials did the…slaughter. He jumped at a howling sound that mimicked a woman's scream and turn to see Cyan and Shadow staring directly at him, wide-eyed and holding their weapons. "W-what?" he managed to whispered. In unison, Cyan and Shadow lifted a hand to point at him…no, behind him! Sabin twirled around and gasped as he saw ghosts floating out of the carpet.

They had long, wry faces, bleached by death and fear. They worn long garments, white, about their fleshless bodies. Long, bony arms rang out of the long sleeves of their white tunics and the hoods did little to hide their monstrous faces. One groaned and reached out for Sabin's shoulder, but the monk jumped back, shivering. "W-W-what is that?" he remembered the beasts Cyan and Shadow warned him about. "Are they the mind rips?"

"No," Shadow replied dryly, putting his weapons away. "They are far worse…they are the undead. Untouchable monsters our attacks will just go through. We need to get out of here, and fast."

Sabin turned for the door, but a ghost floated in the way. Before he could bark a command at the ghost, it groaned in pain. "…no…escape…" it repeated it three times before Sabin panicked and threw a fist at it. It collided, surprising Cyan and Shadow, and knocked the ghost against the door. It groaned once more and turned transparent and launched out toward Sabin, arms out and opened like claws. It swiped four times at the monk before it turned to Shadow, causing the assassin to back against the wall, avoiding only with his fighting dagger. Cyan unsheathed his sword and ran a finger down the blade, his eyes closed. The ghost disappeared into the flooring, reappearing behind Sabin, about to stick its ghastly claws into his back. Cyan could see he took a harder form and released the power he was sealing in his Katana. With a charge and one long slash, he Dispatched the ghost with one swing. A long cut slivered through the body of the ghost, causing the body to split apart into two sections and then it exploded into dust.

With a quick jump, Sabin ran to the door and slammed into it until it swung open. When his team managed their way out of the cabin, Sabin locked the door and shivered, his body cold. "Whew…What do you suppose that was all about?" he was expecting Cyan to answer, but neither answered. Shadow had his thinking face on and Cyan was as silent as the dead. With the thought of the ghosts still on mind, Sabin swore at their timing. The ghosts started to pour out of the cabin's sides, windows and train deck, moaning and clawing at them, reaching and searching to take the four with them to the Afterlife.

They all started to moan the same phrase "…no…escape…"over and over and over again as they slowly started toward them. Sabin grabbed hold of the ladder to his left and nodded to his team.

"They're coming after us!" he shouted to his friends. "Hurry! Go!" Cyan went first, then Shadow – who's dog had managed to jump on the railings and then on top – and then it was Sabin's turn. As his feet hit the fourth step, one of the ghosts grabbed his leg.

"…no…escape…"

With a start, Sabin kicked his feet rapidly until the ghost was thrown aside, over the railing of the train. With a hurry, Sabin made it to the top only to see Cyan and Shadow looking over at the other piece of the train. When the monk arrived by their side, he saw Interceptor. He didn't have to ask Shadow to know that the dog had jumped on his own. They could hear the ghosts cries.

"Nowhere to run…"  
"Nowhere to hide…"  
"No escape for you…"

_I wish those things would give a rest!_ Sabin growled. _There are too many to fight…We wouldn't win, we'd die. But now we're stuck on top of this piece of cra…_Sabin grinned. _Interceptor! He had jumped! If a dog could do it, a monk and assassin can!_ _Wait…What about Cyan?_ As if the old man read minds, Cyan shook the monk's shoulder.

"I believe we have reached a dead end, Sir Sabin!"

He can make it…he's a retainer, isn't he? We'll just have to chance it… "All right!" he chirped, walking to the edge of the cabin.

"Hast thou an idea?" Cyan asked, hopeful.

"Yes…" he hesitated, getting unsure. _No, this is our only way out. If we don't try, we're dead anyway!_ "The time has come to put my training to use!" He grabbed Cyan's arm, nodded to Shadow and smiled. "Come, Cyan!" before the old man could ground himself and resist what Sabin was about to do, he was thrown the distance between the cabin they stood to the next, where Interceptor sat barking at the ghosts. Shadow ran ahead of Sabin and with a graceful leap, landed besides the frightened old man and his dog. He ordered his partner to go ahead and pulled Cyan out of the way for Sabin.

The brute of a monk ran to the end of the cabin top and then back to the tip and jumped. He made it, nearly slipped over the side but was lifted up by Shadow. "Come," he muttered. "They are gaining on us." Sabin nodded and watched Cyan slipped down from the roof and careful walk across the giant chains holding the train pieces together. Shadow had made his jump with Interceptor, leaving him on his own. Sabin attempted another jump, but when his feet touched the roof of the next cabin, it collapsed on him and he fell to the train deck in a daze. The next moment Sabin was being helped up by Cyan and Shadow. _Oh…that hurt._ He leaned against the train wall, grateful for the moment to rest his body, but the screeching sounds of the ghosts put him back on guard.

"…no…escape…"

Sabin growled. "…They couldn't still be…?" he asked, getting a sharp 'yes' from Shadow. "They just don't let up!" Sabin snarled as he turned around and started to search around. Panic never suited him, but he couldn't help it now. "We'll have to detach the rear cars!" he shouted over to Shadow. For once on their journey, Shadow took and order and ran inside of the train cabin with his dog, knowing that Sabin had to stay behind to give him some back up and time if they came to overflow the cabin. Sabin and Cyan watched as the ghosts neared the last car. _Shadow…hurry up!_ Just then, they heard a loud snapping sound and watched as the car behind them, the one carrying all the ghosts, was detached and left behind. With a sigh of relief, Sabin fell against the wall of the train once more as Cyan seated himself on the deck, calming himself. "That should be the end of that…"

When they entered the cabin Shadow had went in, they found him standing by a switch, trying to push it down. When Sabin asked what was wrong, Shadow explained it wouldn't budge. The giant bear of a monk grinned, spat on his hands and asked him to move aside. When he pushed as hard as he could down on the lever, it budged, activated and then snapped in half in the middle. The cabin rumbled with movement and the wall beside them shot open in a quick motion. Sabin gave his team a sheepish smile and then peaked around the corner. It was a long, empty cabin, which was nearly perfect in condition. "Looks safe enough…" he whispered, leading the way.

At the end of the hall, they saw a ghost, friendlier looking in demeanor, sitting in the corner, hunched in a ball. Its tunic and garments were fairly new and covered the face entirely. All they could see was a shimmering, purple light where the neck would be. Getting ready to strike it while it was aware, Cyan stopped when the ghost looked up gently. Sabin pushed Cyan's Katana down and looked over at Shadow. "What's with this guy?" the assassin shook his head, completely at ends.

The ghost reached out to Cyan, shaking hands, to his sword. The old man smiled, fondly. "He seems to want to accompany us."

Sabin rubbed his chin. _His little friends chanced us around… _ "Sorry…We're in a hurry. But we thank you for the offer." it nodded and disappeared into the floor, reappearing behind Cyan in an instant. Before they started off again, the kind monk gave the friendly ghost a long stare. Something about this ghost was different…really different. Its shape was thinner, the head smaller from what he could spot from the hood's size and the way it moved made him curious._ Bah! I have no time to sit around thinking about some dead man…I need to get back to Narshe, to my brother! _He nodded to the ghost and turned his back, hoping he didn't make a big mistake, and pushed through the last door to the cabin. When he looked over his shoulder to see the ghost again, it was watching them and just as Cyan closed the door behind him, Sabin saw the face of the ghost. It was a woman, pale faced and wide-eyed, frowning. _It wasn't a guy…but who was she and why did she want to help?_

Cyan's shout of relief awoke Sabin from his thoughts. He looked up and followed the old man's eyes to the head of the train. A small cabin sat at the tip, smoke pouring from the top. They had made it to the end of the train. _Finally…I'm one step closer to Narshe_. Sabin kicked the door to the last cabin open and stepped in, cautious. All there was in the room was a chair with a note on it and three levers on the back wall. "Let's just end this already," he muttered as he reached for the middle lever. Cyan took the note off the chair and read it.

"Wait, Sir Sabin!" the monk faltered, thinking something had appeared behind him. "Thou should read the note beforehand." He read it once more. "It orders 'first and last', but the rest is smeared, Sir."

"Hmm," Sabin grabbed the first and last lever. "Here's hoping this is what it means." When he pushed them down, the train screeched but didn't stop. Cyan said the note had nothing else written on it and handed it over to the monk. _Damn it…so close_. "Alright then…let's head to the front. Maybe we could do something there."

"Are you sure you pulled them all the way down?" Shadow inspected the levers and found them activated. "Maybe there is a pipe we could bust or maybe another switch or lever near the head of the train. I heard that's how the trains worked in the Empire…"

Following Shadow's suggestion, Sabin led them up to the front of the train and helped them to the top without falling over the side and onto the tracks. When Sabin's own search came up empty for the lever or switch he was supposed to be looking for, he turned to Shadow and asked if he knew what it looked like. The assassin's blue eyes darkened as he thought. "The lever should have a red or blue ring around the center with a circle over the color, with an 'x' on the inside of the circle." Sabin found four of them.

"There are four! Anything more distinctive than that?"

Shadow frowned, shaking his head. "No, not that I can recall."

"Sir Sabin, why not pull the levers in such a way that mimicked the levers in the control room?"

"There are four here though, and they have switched underneath that I think activates once the lever is pulled." He replied, tiredly. The first and last is certainly easy to see, but one lever was split into two, so the first counted as "two" and the second the third and then the last. Would he pull the first lever of the merged two, or both to count as the first? The merged levers were both of the same color…_Hm, I wonder if there is a reason for the two._ Sabin rubbed his chin thoughtfully._ Maybe the first lever is split into two for the engine and another form of motion that we haven't seen? That could be it; it would explain why they share the same characteristics_. The monk grabbed the first two merged levers and took a deep breath. "The train should stop if we throw this switch." _At least I hope it does._

A sudden jolt from the train set the team on their backs, struggling to hold onto the various pieces of the train head. A dark, mystical voice cracked around them. "So!" the voice rang, annoyed. "You're the ones who have been slowing me down!" another jolt sent them to their knees when they had gotten up.

The train laughed when Cyan tumbled over the side and onto the deck and did another jolt, trying to knock Sabin off onto the tracks and Shadow in front of him to squash him flat, but it didn't work. Sabin grabbed a hold of the pipe that released steam and used it as a way to swing his weight into a kick at the gears running in front of him.

The train shook at the hit, but recovered enough to set a cloud of white smoke upon them. Interceptor had begun ripping pipes out of the side of the train when the smoke had hit him. The poor dog collapsed, seemingly paralyzed. Calmly, thought Sabin thought he saw rage in his eyes, Shadow dropped a few circle objects down the pipes of the train, grabbed his dog and jumped to the lower deck. Sabin, alarmed, climbed up the side of the train trying to get away from the area so he didn't suffer from whatever Shadow had done. He jumped to the right of the train and rolled onto his back just in time. The objects Shadow had dropped inside the pipes exploded and shook the entire train. Green smoke puffed out of all sides of the train, drastically slowing the giant metal slug. When the monk got back up on his feet, he saw Shadow order Cyan to do something and watched as the old man stuck his Katana into one of the larger pipes poking out of the side of the train. He made a cut large enough for a fist to enter and pulled away to do the same to another pipe that went deep into the head of the train. Shadow shouted over the roaring engines and the wind to Sabin. "Attack the head at my signal!"

Sabin jumped up and grabbed the siding of the cabin where the engine room was and lifted himself up and over to get back on top of the train since the entrance he took earlier was on the other side. He found the spot he was in before, where the levers were, and grabbed a hold of the biggest pipe he could so he would be launched away again and waited for Shadow's signal. With their new activity, the train howled in frustration. He watched Shadow stuff two more of the circle objects into the pipes Cyan had cut open and then turn to him, making a quick gesture of his hand just as his bombs exploded inside the pipes.

Sabin took a breath, closed his eyes and concentrated on mana. When he felt his energy stored, he pulled his arm back and held it high above him and waited for his fist to glow completely red before he smashed it into the top of the train, on the very tip. The area around them flashed in red for the longest moment before the sound of fire omitted. The Phantom train hissed and slowed down before the sides exploded into jets of flames and smoke. From the shock of the hit, Sabin was thrown backwards over Shadow and Cyan and nearly rolled off the train, but he had caught the railings in time. When the train jolted about once again a defeated, worn voice echoed around them. "I will let you go…" Cyan helped Sabin over the railing and back onto the deck as the Phantom Train began again, this time his voice impressed. "But first there is something I must do…"

The next time the train stopped, they were waiting inside of a small, empty room. Each of them was sitting in a separate corner, silently. Shadow was holding Interceptor's head in his lap, waiting for the medication he gave him to take effect. Cyan was looking out a window, his face tired and full of sorrow. Sabin was sitting crossed legged, meditating when the train completely pulled to a stop. Cyan could see the docking station and looked back to his friends. "It seems we have arrived."

As soon as Sabin's foot touched the docking station, he jumped up, suddenly full of energy. "Whew!" Cyan slowly walked by him, his eyes still watching the train. Shadow carried Interceptor off the train and gently laid him down to dig through his bags for another remedy to hurry the process along. "Glad to be off that thing!" _Though I still want to know what was up with that ghost… _"The faster we leave that train behind, the better!" When his two team mates didn't say anything, he turned to see what was wrong and found them staring at the line of people walking aboard the train at the end of the docking station. _So many people…they must be from Doma_. The thought sickened him. _Kefka killed so many…He needs to be stopped, the whole Empire!_ And then Cyan gasped.

"Is that…!" he frowned, tears forming in his eyes as he saw a beautiful woman and adorable little boy board the train. "Elayne! Owain!" it was them! They were…they were taking the train to the next world.

Sabin and Shadow came to stand by him, though Sabin was the one to ask the question they both wanted to know. "Cyan! Was that your wife and son?" the train hooted and started to move, so Cyan pushed pass Sabin, not even bothering to answer.

"…The train's leaving!" he shouted. He ran along the side of the train, the same place his wife and child had entered. "Please wait!" The train started to speed up just as his wife and son appeared from the cabin, looking at him with love and happiness on their faces. "Elayne!" he shouted, reaching his hand out to her in desperation. She didn't reach for it. "Owaine!" he sobbed, trying to grab the railing to the train. He chased the train to the end of the dock before he could no longer stand beside it.

"My love…You made me so happy. Thank you…" a beautiful, loving voice rang out. Cyan heard a bang, as if iron hit metal. He could see them, standing by the edge of the train, waving at him.

"Dad! I'll keep practicing with my sword so I can keep mom safe!" another bang, another sob. He cried as the train disappeared into the fog of the forest, as his little family and life left the world…

* * *

_That's it for this chapter! There is still more Sabin pieces, obviously, that needs to be written and I am writing them now. But it is the 16th chapter, right after the last I posted. I hope this was good...it took me forever to write. xD_

_If you have any suggestions, or anything, I would love to read them! Thank you so much for bearing with me and reading this! Please review *but kindly?*_


	15. Imperial Death

Chapter 15: Imperial Death

It began to rain when the Returner Troops took their trip back to Figaro Castle, leaving the small group of three alone to travel the plains back to Narshe. It was a quiet day…no one wanted to talk and if they happened to say a word, it was mostly a "yes" or a "no" toward questions. Bannon would occasionally hum a tune or mutter to himself about certain things or even tell Terra what the different types of birds they saw, were called. Terra…she didn't speak for the whole day. Edgar knew it was because she was worried for Locke and Sabin, but he couldn't help but feel as if not being with the thief was breaking her spirits.

By the time the sun started to set and the sky starting to darken, Edgar decided to call it a day. Bannon decided to help him with the tents and as soon as they were done, went to start a fire. Bannon tried to start a fire for fifteen minutes before Edgar gave it a try. The wood they collected was too wet for him or Bannon to start anything on.

"I...can try it." Terra offered. Her soft voice caught their attention and they looked up. When neither of them replied, she frowned. "The fire?" she asked, gently. Edgar shook his head and smiled.

"Thank you, my dear." He got up to let allowed her to get close to the fire. She placed her hands open before the fire and closed her eyes. Her hands gently glowed as she recited the word, "Fire.". The wood popped and then sprung to life in a glorious flame. Exhausted, she leaned away from the fire, her eyes reverting back to their normal shade. Worried, the kind king laid a hand on her shoulder and steadied her. After a few seconds, she rose on shaking limbs and moved away from the fire.

Bannon passed a tired, worn out look at Edgar, as if he too worried for the young woman traveling with them. He stared Edgar in the eye for a few seconds before he turned his eyes to the fire, trying to soak in some warmth. Edgar decided to prepare their day's meal and dug through his packs. He found a slice of bread wrapped in cloth, a small pot with a tied lid on it hiding the pre-cooked meat inside and small containers of fruits and spices. He found another cooking pot, filled it with water, added some of the spices, and then cut of some of the meat and dropped it inside. Next and finally, he took some of the berries and wild foods and added them.

Soon the smell wafted over to Bannon and then Terra, who was sitting a little far back. Her stomach growled and she hoped they didn't hear. Edgar smiled, stirring the food. "It's done," he grabbed three bowls and poured equal amounts – though he added more to Terra's – and handed them their bowls and a slice of bread. "I certainly hope it at least has a taste." Edgar said.

Terra smiled after she sipped some of the meaty soup. "It's delicious Edgar," she began to eat again. "Hm…wrelly….gwed." He grinned, please that she found it good and began to eat his as well. After their dinner, Edgar stood on watch when Terra and Bannon went into their separate tents to sleep. The next morning, it started to lightly rain, sprinkling them with tiny dots of freezing water. Terra pulled the hoodie to her cape over her and wrapped her arms around her waist. Edgar didn't seem to care and just continued on without stopping. Bannon, on the other hand, pulled out a thin stick that outstretched into a cover, which he explained was an "Umbrella". He invited Terra under and she smiled, running over to seek the cover of the umbrella.

[-]

Celes' company wasn't a very pleasant one. She hardly spoke and when he got her to converse, she would end it quickly with short replies and try to find quick ways to "end" his questions, or conversations. He would ask, "are you tired?" and she would replied with a quick "no" and then continue on, or when he tried to bring up conversation on the sky, flowers or view, she would nod her head, make a cut up compliment on the view and then stop talking. And Locke thought getting Edgar and Terra to talk around the fireplace at night, with or without their troubles, was hard. Celes really was a wall!

This continued on for the next two days before he finally had enough. So when they took a break to hide under a large, pine tree during a storm, he decided to try to talk again. She was sitting against the trunk of the tree, watching the starry sky above her where the stormy clouds had yet covered in their frantic rage. Her eyes seemed lost, remembering something perhaps? Or maybe she was just thinking about what happened to her back in South Figaro. He knew she was a general, yet he also knew the bruises, cuts and the torture she went through must be affecting her greatly. He wanted to tell her it was alright, that she would be okay but he had a feeling she would not appreciate that sort of "be happy" attitude at the moment and knew she had the right to be angry, hell, he knew it would help her heal both physically and emotionally. He could see the purple marks leading up her arms, giant whelps riding along side them. Her face was bruised on the right side, cut and beaten. Her lip was ripped, healing, but still bleeding. She had a slight black eye and he could hear some labor to her breathing. Did they break a rib? Or did it just hurt to breathe? He swore. How could anyone torture another, let alone a woman? A defenseless woman at that! He knew she would walk for hours without a complaint…he heard about her stubbornness, but he didn't expect her to be_ this_ stubborn. He had started a fire and decided to cook a quick meal of re-heated meat slices and slices of bread – easiest and cheapest meal to have on the road. When he handed Celes her portions, she didn't accepted them 'happily' or 'graciously', but just with silence. They ate in a dark, quiet mood for a bit, before Locke decided to talk.

"I heard a lot about the great General Chere." He started, getting an annoyed sigh from the icy woman. "So tell me, is it true? All what is said about you?"

With irritation, she glanced over at him with the most annoyed glare he had even received in his life. "…let's _not_ talk." And then she looked away.

"I will take that as a 'yes, it is all true'." He leaned back. "Unless you want to tell me different, of course."

"I suppose this is where I start to babble about my inner emotions?" she asked, angry. He looked away, embarrassed for the oddest reasons. "How about we keep to ourselves?" she suggested and then turned away from him, staring at the endless sky.

Locke shrugged. "You can't hide what they did to you. I know you are hurt, I can see it _clearly_."

"And? This is not the first injury or injuries, I have received. Mind your own business, _thief_." She barked, her blue, crystal like eyes sent chills down his spine. Perhaps that one rumor of the woman who could make even the bravest man shiver in fear in the Empire, was a true rumor. He didn't have to ask for clarification on that one, he could see it very easily.

But he shrugged it off. "Now you listen here," Locke turned his gaze to her. "You may have been the icy one in the Empire, grown immune to the cold and in itself, turned to the cold. Your bitter anger doesn't get to me like it does for others." He saw the look of surprise on her face, but as quickly as it appeared it disappeared, replaced by this icy, hard emotionless expression. "Now that we have that down," he lifted up a finger. "This journey may not be the longest I've had, but that aside I will not like to be talked to like you have been treating me. Understand?"

She smiled. It was...so beautifully dangerous Locke's heart stop. Was this woman insane? What made her smile so easily to his clear disrespect and demand of her? _Is she a bloody lunatic?_ He thought, staring at her, determined to keep his demand to ask her that very question in check. His stance faltered when her smile turned into an intoxicating sadistic smile. No, sadistic wasn't the right word. It was more like she thought what he said was so hilarious that she just smiled, amused by his demand. He knew it wasn't like Kefka's sadistic smile, she was genuinely amused - perhaps surprised too - to hear someone stand up against her. And then she spoke so coldly, he felt as if he had jumped into a freezing lake.

"I don't take lightly to demands, thief." She didn't speak it in anger, or fuse her anger with her tone, but rather used a sweet voice – he knew then why she was the deadliest women he has ever met - she hid her emotions very well, enough to bend situations to her whim. Well, he supposed second deadliest. He knew one girl who could summon fire! This woman made it seem as if she could only speak her icy tones.

"Then don't see it as a demand," he grinned when her eyebrow arched up in curiosity. "See it as a 'do or don't do and pay the consequences', eh?"

"I don't much care for that as well." She growled.

"That's the point – it doesn't matter how _you_ feel, you make a pick and deal with it."

"I know what an ultimatum is, you fool. And what happens if I don't pick as you see so fit?" she wasn't scared, he knew it. She was curious; delighted by the fact that someone had the balls to screw with her. Had this happen rarely, or was she just so cocky she liked this kind of thing? Locke shivered, but couldn't help the interest that started to swell.

"Nothing of course. Only," he shrugged, indifferently, trying to act cool and collected. "you would be stranded here, without protection—" she laughed at the ending of his remark, as if the mere notion of being 'protected' disgusted her beyond belief. "—and possibly eaten or tortured again."

"Oh?" Celes asked, holding back a fit of giggles. "You got me out of South Figaro thief, but this doesn't mean that I'm—"

"—My name is Locke!" he snapped. "Let's not bicker; you will say this and I will say that. You said you'd accompany me to Narshe?" she reluctantly nodded. "Then please, Celes, there is no need to act so coldly. I mean no harm, I'm just a friend."

She held back a tart response and looked away. "Fine." She replied, quickly and simply. And then a moment passed of silence and she looked over at him. "Exactly…what is at Narshe that means so much?"

Locke shrugged. "I'm not sure myself, _entirely_. But I know someone who would like to meet you, or at least like to ask you some questions."

"And she is?" Locke grinned, laughing. Celes' brows lowered in anger. "Why do you laugh? I asked you this before and you didn't answer then. Who is she?" She leaned away, watching his face as he continued.

"You might know a few things about her that she would love to hear…"

"And who is she? Her name? Where was she born?" she asked again, getting annoyed.

Locke rose a finger. "I suppose you won't be dazed by the news, as I know for certain you know how and why she is as she is." Irritated, she urged him to answer her questions. "She is from the Empire…I don't know where she was born, but…" he sighed. "Her name is Terra, or so she remembers." At the mention of the girl's name, Celes' eyes went wide with memories, pain, love and even fear. Locke knew then that this woman knew Terra more than just a soldier in her ranks…but personally, on some level. A look of complete happiness rippled across her face as she jumped up – ignoring her sore and broken body – and gasped.

"Terra? You have seen Terra?" Alarmed by her reaction, he rose his hands to calm her down.

"Yes, yes! What has gotten into you?" she grabbed his arm and yanked him up. "What's wrong?" he asked again.

"You have to take me to her! Now!"

"What? Why? We'll be there soon—"

"—Is she okay? Where has she been?"

"She's fine…almost."

"What do you mean?" she snapped. "What did you do to her? Did you take her captive? I swear if you laid a hand on her, I _will_ kill you!" Her hands tightened around his arm. He growled and ripped his arm away. _Well, now I know for sure she knows Terra more than a soldier._

"No, of course not! I didn't hurt her, I _rescued_ her."

"You what?" she asked, completely taken a back. "You '_rescued_' her?" she laughed. "Then we must have different girls."

"No, I'm sure you are talking about the green haired girl." At the mention of the clear distinction between anyone else on the planet, she smiled again.

"How did you rescue her, and from what?"

"She…she had the Slave crown placed on her head and was sent to Narshe."

"Slave crown? So…" she remembered exactly what Locke told her before and became horrified. "No – No! Terra never had the slave crown on! She…she was sent to Doma, to serve under General Leo against the battle over the Domans!" Astonished she didn't even know the truth that far back, he sighed.

"Apparently your Empire didn't even trust you even _then_…she was sent to Narshe and was told to kill anyone in the way. Her goal was to take a frozen shard out of the caves. She failed, ultimately, and a friend of mine found her unconscious and removed the crown. She lost all…she lost all of her memories." Sitting down, dismayed, Celes sighed.

"They…put that thing on her?" she couldn't believe it. _So that's…that's why she was missing for those last few months. They were…_she gripped her hands. "How dare they!" she shouted. Locke reached out to tap her hand. Celes knew then that all that she was before, an Imperial, completed died. She would never look back, even if they decided to stop what they did. They needed to suffer, to be brought down, _permanently_.

"I know…I couldn't believe it either. I never thought they would stoop so lowly. But once I learned what she could do, I knew it was believable." She turned sharply, her face angry again.

"What do you mean? She remembers how to use her magic?"

"So you know she uses magic?" Locke asked, frowning. "How?" Celes rolled her eyes and held a hand out and closed her hands.

"Ice," she whispered. Just then, to Locke's shock, an ice shard as big as his fist appeared in her hands. He almost fell over, alarmed. "I know…because I tutored her."

He stared, dumbly, at her hands. How many of them did the Empire have? And how long would they survive against the Empire's mages?

[-]

Edgar, smiling, watched as Terra darted pass him and then soon pass Bannon, her graceful figure running through the tall grass. Her body looked so lithe, graceful. She moved incredibly fast and never seemed to run out of energy. He was really amazed by how a night's rest and some good food in her made her so energized. He heard her laugh out loud and glanced over at Bannon, to see if he heard her and saw her happy attitude. Bannon laughed gently, his voice warm and aged. Edgar wondered exactly what got into her, or happened and smiled. At least she is happy, he thought, walking beside Bannon now.

"What do you think got into her?" he asked Bannon, curious.

"Hm, I have no idea. She seems so much easier today…did you say anything to her this morning?" Edgar shook his head. "She woke early this morning and insisted I let her go outside of the camp zone. She said 'I won't go far, I promise'. I couldn't say no, not to the face she gave me. She, well, she hugged me and then shot of like a Chocobo. She's a Runner, alright."

Edgar laughed, grinning ear to ear. "Maybe she remembered something last night."

"Whatever it was, it was obviously something delightful to her." Bannon added, looking ahead to watch Terra run over a hill and disappear. "Let's hope it continues."

"Yes, let's hope." Edgar agreed.

A few hours later, the sun now a blistering spot in the sky above them, the kind king called out to Terra ahead of them, "Come back Terra!" he shouted, nodding when she paused and glanced over her shoulder. He knew she heard; she smiled and then turned to run back. Edgar sat on a rounded rock to catch his breath and have a drink of water. Bannon, doing the same, sat beside him, his breathing labored.

"Its as if the sun is closer today," the old man muttered, graciously drinking his water. The next stream was at least two-three hours ahead of them. Edgar nodded, agreeing that the temperature for the day was just horrid. Terra appeared less than five feet away that second, her breathing just slightly shallow. She smiled, asking why they stopped. "We need to rest our bones," Bannon said, smiling at the young woman. He said it very tenderly, hoping he didn't cause her to worry. She 'oh'd' and then dropped down on the ground beside them, waiting patiently for them to be rested.

Edgar glanced over at the young green haired woman and despite her having energy to burn, saw her red face. "Do you have water?" she frowned and then reached for her water-skin. She opened the skin and then peered inside, only to look up and shake her head. He sighed. "I told you to refill it at the last stream." she made a shy face and looked away.

"I'm sorry, I forgot." she pouted.

"Well then," he held his out to her. "You drink this, we should see the next stream soon." she gently took the water-skin and asked if he was sure. He nodded and then got up. "Have your fill. I'm going ahead to scout the area, would you mind staying behind to watch Bannon for me." she gulped one mouth full of water and then smiled, sweetly.

"I don't mind." she replied, handing him his water-skin - and her's once he asked for it, as well as Bannon's - and then she got up to sit on a fallen log.

"Thank you, m'dear." he took her hand, kissed it gently and then wandered onward, not noticing Bannon's foolish chuckle.

By the time Edgar got back to their spot, it was pretty late in the day. He had refilled his water-skin, Bannon's and Terra's water-skin while he scouted ahead. The sun wasn't as intense as it was earlier, which he was glad for. He rounded the hill and frowned when he saw the two he left behind napping under a dark, shady tree. Bannon was leaning against the trunk of the tree, his robe laying on the ground below him as bedding. To his far right, almost near the end of the shade, was Terra. She was lying in the tall, cool grass. She had pulled her cape off and used it for a pillow, her hands tucked underneath her cheeks for she had been on her side. Edgar sighed, walking over to the tree. It was only mid-day, they could have gotten more into the day. He knew resting had been Bannon's idea, the old man could barely walk a hour without getting tired!

Edgar turned to sit in the shade with them, intending to wait for them to wake, when he heard Terra's soft voice. He looked over to her and saw her lying on her back, her face bunched up in clear pain. Her hand clenched the grass below her as a sharp gasp escaped her lips, and then slowly relaxed. "no...no, please..." she rolled her head, her breathing labored. Was it in fear? Edgar rose, intending to wake her.

"No, Edgar." alarmed, the king glanced over at the old man. "She needs to face it. They are her memories, she needs even the bad ones." How could he say that? She shouldn't suffer through nightmares! He moved again, but Bannon stopped him with a firm arm. "Don't, let her go through it."

* * *

_Terra could see herself, laying on the ground in a heap of pain and sorrow. She was wracked with fear. Was this another memory, or was it a nightmare? Her throat tightened, her head tingled with thoughts 'what is going to happen?' or 'what am I going to do now?'. She knew her last few memories except the one she had the previous day, all showed just how monstrous she was...is. She could see him, the man who saw in her very first memory when she fell down in the caves of Narshe. He was the same man who told Edgar - though she knew Edgar didn't think she heard - that she had burned Figaro down. Kefka._

_He was standing beside her, a sick grin on his face as he demonstrated something to three men in front of him. They were all dressed in giant, yellow labcoats. One in particular, seemed struck with grief. How old was she in this memory? She found herself thinking as she watched Kefka move around her figure on the floor. He gestured at something, she didn't see, and then said something. It was one word and then glanced down at Terra. She couldn't have been more than 13, maybe 10. Kefka opened his hands and Terra started to hear the noise finally appearing. First it came as cracking, then popping and then exploded into full sound. She could hear him now._

_"Doctors, I'm sure this will help with research." What had he done to her?_

_"For now, concentrate on the physical actions I demonstrated on her. Make sure you do exactly as I showed." one of the doctors, a bald man with a thick, ugly nose and wide face complete with beady eyes, raised his hand. Angry, Kefka asked what he wanted._

_"Should it be done on all the subjects?" Kefka asked what he meant. "Well, I know what you demonstrated should be done to the others, but what...of her?" he gestured to Terra. Kefka grinned._

_"She's a subject, isn't she?" the clownish man asked. The bald doctor nodded, obviously pleased to be allowed to cause pain to Terra. _But why?_ She asked, frowning._

_Terra gasped when the memory started to fade, slowly, as she heard voices. "No, Edgar." the voice whispered, a bit angrily. "No...no, please..." she said as the image started to rip apart quicker.  
_

* * *

Terra's eyes opened, slowly. She was aware of the fact that she was hot, the air was stuffy and her face drenched in sweat. Her breathing was labored too. She sat up, holding her head when she saw Bannon's hand tightly wrapped around Edgar's arm. They were staring at each other, Edgar's eyes reflecting anger and Bannon's understandings. She felt terrible and wasn't exactly in the mood to be there when they fought. She made a weak sound and they glanced over at her, whatever had gone on while she was asleep faded away. She asked what was wrong, and they shrugged.

"Nothing." Edgar replied, swiftly. "Bannon...forget about the passed issue." he turned to the young lady on on their team. "Terra, are you well rested dear?" she glanced over at Bannon and stared at him for a few seconds before she nodded. "Good, good...we should head on, get as much ground covered as possible. We are very close to Narshe." he rose, sent Bannon another glare and then helped Terra up.

* * *

_Chapter End/_

_This was a pretty short chapter...I am sorry, really. But all that needed to be told had been told in this chapter xD_

_I hope to see more lovely reviews! And yes, thank you so much for reviewing guys! I love reading them! :3_


	16. Pain, fear and numbers

**A's Notes:** Sorry for the late update. I have been really busy. You can see more of why at the bottom of this chapter. Well, that's all for now except please review with errors or suggestions/advice! Thanks!

**Word count:** 6,340

**Chapter 16:** _Pain, fear and numbers._

"So exactly how many of you are there?" Locke asked as Celes stumbled through the thickets of the forest behind her. She took a short glance over her shoulders and shook her head, an absolutely confused expression on.

"How many? Why, there is only one Celes." and then Locke knew she had done that on purpose.

He smiled. "I meant magic users."

She paused for a second to think, but continued on, her long legs easily reaching over the broken trees and scrubs. "I'm not entirely sure. If the Empire lied to me about Terra and about Doma, then they must have lied to me about everything else as well."

"Well then, what _did _they tell you?" he wiped at his brow as he said it.

"They said only Terra and I could use magic and..."

"And?" he caught up when the tall blond took a break at the end of the forest. Her eyes were searching the horizon, for something or someone. Locke quickly looked down at her body and then back up at her face. She was definitely healing, he could see the purple marks and cuts fading, but she still walked stiffly. _Is this because of her magic? Can she heal fast…?_ He suddenly remembered Terra's hands healing up and gasped. _I suppose magic does that to them. I wonder what else separates us…_

"There is General Leo and Kefka Palazzo."

"Kekfa?" _That bastard can us magic too? Why didn't he use it at Figaro to get Terra back? Why didn't he…Oh! He must have set the flames to the castle. That explains it, it must. That dirty…!_ "I can't believe this…oh man, Edgar could really use this information right now."

"Edgar?" she asked, frowning as she passed him a slightly curious glance. "As in the king of Figaro?" he nodded, and she chuckled. "I always knew Figaro supported the Returners. I was told he was a very stubborn idiot by the Empire."

"I thought you had enough of the Empire?" she glared hotly at him. "If it's true, it shouldn't matter who supports the Returners, right? Besides, Edgar is with Terra right now so I hope he's not the idiot your precious Empire said he is, or she's in danger."

"Isn't he a pervert?" she asked, perplexed that he would send Terra off with a pervert.

The sudden question made Locke burst out in laughter. "You'll find out what he is when you meet him."

* * *

The look of the familiar snow-topped mountains made Terra wince in pain. She subconsciously reached for the back of her head, where the pain was when she woke and sighed. She could still remember running from those Narshen soldiers as if it was just the other day, she could still remember the bitter cold of the snow and the icy, slick caves. When her two companions noticed she had stopped before them and questioned her, she smiled wryly and said, "I'm just a bit tired." Bannon nodded and headed on, eager for the warmth of an Inn, but Edgar gave her an understanding stare before he started to walk beside her.

The gates to Narshe had been broken in, so more guards had been placed on the spot. There was a round of twelve on the ground and four more on the bridges above, armed with bows and spears. All were dressed in yellow fur clothing, only one was dressed in heavy, brown furs with a matching cap. He had a badge on his shoulder, indicating his higher rank over the others and his obvious leadership among them. When they saw Edgar and Bannon they froze, a little uneasy especially when a hooded woman was standing behind them. The leader held his spear out toward them and shouted for them to stop.

"Hold up you three," he jabbed the spear at Edgar, then Bannon and then Terra, suspiciously. "Remove the hood, girl." When she hesitated, he jabbed it at her again. "I said remove it! Now!" the girl gave the young man with blond hair a look before she slowly put the hood down. The leader of the guards gasped, horrified. "You…you're the Imperial officer from before!"

Bannon reached out toward the leader. "Please, I can explain!"

"Get out of here now, or you'll regret it!" the high ranking guard shouted. When Bannon voiced an objection, he punched Bannon, who staggered back into Terra.

Frowning, Edgar stepped in the way. "Let's not get hasty here! I'm King Edgar of Figaro…"

"Liar!" he accused and pushed Edgar just as Terra helped Bannon aside. He stumbled down the stairs and onto his back. Holding back swear words as Terra hovered over to help, he heard Bannon.

"My goodness…"

Edgar pushed the snow off his jacket and cape and growled, glaring at the men. "And that, my friends, is why I can't stand men. It's like they don't even have ears!" when Terra helped him stand up straight, her face darkened with guilt.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "It's all my fault…" she looked down, too ashamed to look at them. Edgar patted her arm and told her not to worry as Bannon walked back to the guards, determined to get them to understand. When the old man came back to stand beside them, he shook his head in defeat.

"It's her!" the leader suddenly cried out to his men. "It's here, the witch is here!" As the leader turned and charged off, Edgar looked up and saw the men on the bridges about to knock arrows. He quickly grabbed Terra and Bannon by the elbow and dragged them out of sight of the soldiers. He had dragged them behind a little supply house outside the destroyed gates and peaked around the corner to see what the soldiers were doing. They were restocking their bows and aiming, waiting for them to appear so they could load their backs with arrows. The king swore, shaking his head as he paced around his little team. "Great, we cannot enter the city through the gates, and we can't turn to leave or they will fire."

Bannon's face turned white with worry. "What will we do?"

"I'm not sure yet…let me think." He rubbed his chin as Bannon sat on a bucket to rest, and pray for their lives. Not wanting to give them a false hope, Terra decided to see if the memory she was thinking of just then was a real one. She left the group to go around the side of the house, where a nook met with the mountain side. As she was reaching around the mountain, she heard Edgar and Bannon walk up, curious for the reason of her disappearance. As if they asked what she was doing, she sighed. "When Locke first rescued me, we came out of the mines right around here." She reached for an odd looking rock, but it did nothing. "He fiddled with something…"

Edgar politely stepped in front of Terra and rubbed his chin as he thought. "Yes, he told me." He reached for a circle like rock poking out of the side of the mountain. "Twist this stone like so, and…" the wall shook and then opened, revealing a dark passage into the mountains. Bannon shook at the gust of still, cold air that pushed out and held his fur coats closer to his body. Terra too noticed the cold and cuddled into her cape, though it didn't offer much protection against the harsh cold. When Edgar saw the two's shivering bodies, he pointed into the cave. "Don't worry, when we get into town you'll be by a nice, toasty fire."

"But what about _now_?" Terra asked, teeth chattering and getting a nod of approval for her question from Bannon, who was cold now not later. Edgar shook his head and grabbed an unlit torch off the wall and checked his pockets for flint stones, but didn't have any. He shyly looked over at Terra and held them out, asking if she could set them ablaze. She held a hand out toward the tip of the torch and the next second, without muttering a word, the torch was ablaze. The kind king smiled proudly at Terra and then lit two more torches for them to hold.

"This should keep you a little warmer, and provide a good light for us until we reach the deeper mines where miners have lit their own torches."

Bannon and Terra were disappointed by the new source of 'warmth', but decided to hold their comments and follow behind Edgar. It didn't take more than a few minutes to reach the end of the tunnel to meet a slightly opened door. When they stepped in, the room shined a bright blue before it went back to the darkness. Edgar shifted on his feet. "This must be the place…"

Terra looked up at the young king, a curious expression on her face. "What place?" he was looking ahead, at a little ball of light that repeated a path through the boulders.

"There's a room in here they use to test applicants to the city guard." He gave Terra his torch and grabbed her hand. "We should be fine as long as we follow the light. If we make a mistake, lights will surround us." It was clear he was trying to remember something, which Terra guessed Locke had told him at one point. "Then we'll have to tag the glimmering orange light to proceed." They nodded.

"Terra, grab Bannon's hand." He looked at the old man. "Don't let go of Terra's hand and Terra, don't let go of mine, understand?" she nodded and gripped his hand. He took a breath and waited for the little ball of light to run another path before he moved around the far left boulder, then in front of it and then went straight and turned right once more. Before he could turn down, he heard Bannon gasp and felt Terra let go of his hand. He turned and they were gone. "Bannon…? Terra!" he shouted, sweat beading up on his face. "Terra! Bannon! Answer me!"

"Umff!" he heard Bannon to his left, someplace.

"Bannon? Bannon!" he called out again, hearing Terra's voice this time.

"Bannon!" she cried out.

"Terra?" Edgar shouted, turning behind him to face where the voice echoed. _Damn it!_ "Hold on Terra!" he couldn't see anything, he had given Terra his torch and now all their lights were out. He ran ahead, but ran into a wall. _Damn! Damn!_ He turned left, but another wall. He heard what sounded like metal hitting rock and panicked. _I have to find them!_ He felt his way along the rocks, fear bubbling in his stomach. Suddenly there was a huge flash of red light and he could see everything. Twenty feet ahead of him, was Terra. She was standing in front of a kneeling Bannon. Her whole body was glowing from the pillar of fire shooting out of her hands into a group of goblins. Edgar could see the rocks turning red hot and hear the sizzling of the goblins' skin, as well as smell their burning scent. Another group of Goblins came running at Terra's side just as she finished her fire spell. Before Edgar could take his crossbow out, Terra turned and unsheathed her sword swiftly. With a quick motion, she hacked through three of them in one swipe and then turned and stuck the sword through another's back. The fire on the dead goblins was starting to die out just as she slashed through four more. Just as the fire died completely, she sheathed her sword and turned tiredly at the old man to help him up. And then he saw another small flicker and saw Terra lighting the torches again.

Awed, Edgar stumbled ahead, walking up slowly to the small group. "A-are you okay?" he asked Bannon, who was holding what looked like a broken arm. The old man nodded, gritting his teeth against the pain. "Your arm is broken?" he nodded again. "Alright, we'll hurry out of here and get you some attention for that arm—"

"—I…I can help him." Terra muttered, reaching for Bannon's arm with shaking hands.

"No, no Terra," Edgar stopped her. "You used too much energy...I can see you shaking."

"But I…I can help him." She protested, weakly. Bannon chuckled and patted the girl's arm softly, shaking his head.

"No need, dear girl. I will be fine until we get into town, I'm sure. I don't want you wasting any energy you desperately need on me. Besides!" he chirped, leaning against the cave wall. "You did enough with that fire spell of yours! My, my! That was brilliant!" The young woman blushed and smiled at him before lowering her eyes. Edgar took one of the torches and lit the last one on the small embers on the ground before handing one to Bannon.

"We need to go before another group of monsters decide to attack us. Terra, are you sure you can walk?" she gave him a firm nod, though he could see what the spell took from her and then grabbed her hand as she grabbed Bannon's cape. "Just follow me and stay close to me. Whatever you do, do not let go of my hand," _if that happens again, I think I'll die of a heart attack… _"I mean it this time!" he hissed, dragging them around the remaining boulders.

* * *

The bulges of the mountain peaks of Narshe could be seen from atop the cliffs where Locke and Celes stood. A sigh of relief escaped Locke's lips as he started the lead down the mountain side, only a week maybe two and they would be at Narshe, if Celes didn't heal any faster that is. He hoped that Terra was okay…he wouldn't be able to take it if leaving her behind with just Edgar caused her harm. _Just hold on Terra…I'll be there soon_. Locke pointed to the snowy peaks. "That's Narshe."

"I'm well aware of that," she replied coolly as she jumped down off the cliff. "We need to hurry and warn the civilians of the Imperial raid coming. We're already late enough, who knows how far ahead or how close the army is to us or Narshe." She turned just as Locke managed to get down. "Are you always this slow?"

"You know," the thief dusted himself off. "your attitude won't get us to Narshe quicker."

"Neither will your speed, so I suggest you pick up your pace thief." she remarked, hurrying on. Locke growled. _Women! How can they be so…infuriating! _

When the sun started to fade behind the mountains and the chill of the night air crept among them, they decided to stop for the night. Locke went out to gather some firewood, but when he got back Celes had already created a fire and had just finished throwing more wood into the flames. He didn't bother to ask how she knew how to start a fire. He was sure the Empire taught her all her "needed" skills.

He hunkered down across from her, leaning toward the glowing warmth, shivering. She was holding something small, red and purple in her hands, an expression of tenderness on her face. Should he ask? Would she even answer? He had a feeling he knew what it was about and he could tell she needed some reassurance. "She'll be fine…" he whispered. The young blond didn't bother to look up; she was still staring at whatever it was in her hands. "She's a charm, and great in a pickle." The young ex-general looked up at the thief with the softest expression he had ever seen on her and knew just how much Celes cared for Terra. _The poor girl…they must have been raised together._

"Is she…could you tell me about her? The _now_ her?"

Locke was confused. How long had they been separated? Couldn't have been that long, could it? "I barely know the girl myself, but she's extremely sweet."

Celes smiled, and then laughed weakly. "I bet she's still easy to tease..."

Locke laughed, nodding. "Yes, she sure is."

"I hope she is well…"

"Last time I saw her, she could melt magitek suits. I'm sure she's okay."

"Melt magitek suits?" her eye brows lowered in confusion. "What happened to put her in that situation?"

Locke scratched his neck, tired and suddenly unsure if he could trust her. "Well…Figaro was attacked by Kefka, and she was trying to save us." The young icy woman simply nodded.

"It must have been terrifying for her if she used enough power to melt a tank."

"She was incapable of using her magic after that for a while…I assume she's got a limit?" he sounded odd at that point to the young woman. Celes scoffed and Locke sighed. _She's back to herself…I guess that's a good thing._

"What did you think? That she was a weapon that didn't grow tired?"

"No, of course not!"

"Then why is it such a shock she has limits?"

"I...er, I didn't mean it like that." He weakly protested. How could he expect a magic user to understand how strange it was for him to even talk about magic let alone know for sure it exists? That kind of power shouldn't belong to anyone. "I…I have seen what that kind of power can do to someone. It is hurting her."

"The power isn't hurting her," Celes snapped. "it's what people…what men…have made her power into that is hurting her. They corrupted what is supposed to be good, what is suppose to be life itself." She threw a piece of wood into the fire in anger. "Ever since she was a kid she was shown fire is nothing but destruction…she never saw the beauty of fire, the life behind it. Her blessing was turned into a curse."

Locke's eyes lowered to the flames, deep in thought. "Whatever she thought before…isn't how she thinks now. She has changed…"

She growled, annoyed. _How does he even know if she has changed or not! He doesn't know her… _Celes got up to leave the camp fire. "No more thief…" and then she ended it and went to rest far away from him.

He wanted to say sorry…he didn't mean to upset her so badly.

* * *

The poor man hadn't spoken a word since they left the forest and train behind a few days ago. He had a cold, dead expression on and whenever he was asked if he wanted anything to eat or drink the old man, lost in grief, would just take the food or drink and leave.

Sabin could sense the aura of darkness around him, the complete loneliness that threatened to rob him of his sanity or worse, his life. The kind monk tried time and time again to get the man to talk or to do anything, but he just couldn't. He tried sharing his loss by the Empire's hands with him to tell him he's not alone, but he refused to listen. So Sabin went to Shadow, though he doubted it would work.

"Leave him be. He's facing the truth. If he cannot handle the truth, he will lose himself and just so."

"Just so!" Sabin snarled. "How could you say something like that? Only a monster would say that..."

Shadow paid him no concern of his "character" as he replied to the all too caring monk. "Some people cannot heal…some people don't like moving on. Some of them prefer the darkness to what has happened. If he can't or won't fight back, then it is his decision and just for him."

"But…how is it just?"

"What you considered to be helpful to you may not be the same for Cyan. If he's meant to heal from this and move on with his life, he will do so. But if he's not, then he personally doesn't want or have the will to live on." The ninja in pure black turned his crystal blue eyes to him. "Not all live like monks." And then he hurried on, his dog stopping to give Sabin the strangest look before he charged off for his master. Deciding to check on Cyan, Sabin turned his eyes to his left and saw the man following lifelessly behind them, his eyes wide and his face pale.

"Cyan," the monk called out. When the old samurai looked up, his eyes red, Sabin continued. "It…it will get easier, with time. It will never heal, but it will get easier…I promise."

When they stopped for the night, Shadow lifted his gloved hands to point at the horizon. There was a giant mountain ahead of them, surrounded by empty fields and scattered lakes of various sizes and lengths. The ninja explained that the mountain's waterfall headed straight into a current that would carry anyone or any boat, directly to the ocean shore near Narshe rather swiftly, if they stayed on course.

The idea of jumping off a mountain side into water worried Sabin. What it if it did the opposite and took him further away from Narshe…from his brother, just like the river did? He wasn't afraid of the height; he was afraid he'd never see his brother again or be there when he needed him the most.

The monk shook his head, trying to clear his worries. _Detachment…detachment_. He repeated, but he couldn't help but feel he was lying to himself. He would never be able to detach himself from his loved ones, never. That's when he heard Shadow's voice.

"When need to set out early if you plan on getting to Narshe soon."

"Do you think I'll make it before the Empire?"

Shadow's eyes darkened. "I'm not sure. Even if I knew when they had set out and what they were using, I wouldn't be able to tell you."

The bear-like man smashed his fists into the ground, a scowl of hatred on his face. "I needed to get to Narshe days ago! Kefka could be attacking—"

"Narshe...?" Cyan asked, looking up. "The city of Miners?" the monk nodded. "A city like that shan't fall easy to the Empire, master Sabin. A witch couldn't even take Narshe down."

"He's right," Shadow agreed, standing. "Last I heard they handled that Imperial witch pretty nicely and she was forced to escape."

Sabin's face flushed. Should he tell them about Terra and Bannon? Would they still help him knowing he intended on fighting beside the very witch they were talking about? He knew Cyan wouldn't help it well at all, and Shadow might just leave. He decided against it. "How long does it take for the river to carry us to Narshe?"

"A day maybe or it could take three days. The current isn't that strong."

Sabin sighed. _Be safe brother…I'll be there soon._

* * *

He didn't want to alarm his little team, but some wrong step they took got them lost. He didn't know where to go and it was so bloody cold. He stopped them for the moment, to think, when he noticed Bannon and Terra's near-blue lips and shivering bodies. _If I don't get them out of here, they'll die._ He covered his face, regretting that he didn't pack warmer clothes for Narshe back at the hideout and swore. An old man in little furs and a young lady under dressed wouldn't last long in the sub-zero like temperatures of the icy, slick caves of Narshe's mountains. He didn't want to see Bannon die or Terra freeze to death…he didn't want to look at her face as she died.

"Edgar?" Bannon called out, worried. The king looked up, adopting a softer expression. "Why haven't we started up again? Its bloody cold and the lass is freezing to death."

Edgar glanced over to Terra and saw her cuddling up into her cape, which wrapped around her until it covered up a little pass her chin. "Just…give me a moment." He took a deep breath. Locke had told him about a cave he used to hide some of his bigger treasures he found out around the world, but was it on the eastern mountain or was it on the west, where they were? He couldn't remember any detail of what the room looked like that the thief might have given him and frowned. "Terra?" the young woman looked up. "Do you perhaps remember anything else from within the cave?"

Terra just looked at him for the longest of moments before she weakly nodded. "A little…but it was before I fell, so it might have changed after."

"That is fine, do tell and please share whatever you can remember." And Terra began recounting what happened and how everything looked, or at least what she could see in the dark. When she got to the part where the ground collapsed, she stopped.

"That's all I can remember," she said, shyly. "I fell then."

"What did this two path room look like?" he asked.

"Um, there was the straight path that I took from Narshe and then by the end of that, there was a left…it had stairs cut out of the ground."

"That's better than nothing, anything else?"

"There was…I think I remember seeing more stairs as I fell, but I'm not sure, it was really dark."

"And all that you had has helped greatly, m'lady." He thanked her and stood, helping Bannon up and allowing him to rest his weight against him as he spoke and reached for Terra's hand. "I think we are still on the bottom of the caves, the same floor we came in on. If we can find a door heading up, I'm sure it will lead us to the spot Terra told us about."

Frowning, the young green haired woman shook her head. "You can't, there isn't any ground to walk on."

"Don't worry about that, m'dear, I will find a way around it. But first, we need to find that room."

* * *

Morning came sooner than Sabin had wanted. He had been up the whole night, thinking about his brother and his father, and even his mother. The Empire consumed all of his energy and turned it into hate. It frightened him to know that he could hate something so much as he did toward the Empire. Why had seeing Edgar and hearing of Terra's tale bring that hatred back? He thought he had gotten rid of it, but yet it burned more intensively now. Maybe his master was right…his heart wasn't meant for this.

"Sir Sabin…?" the monk gasped, glancing up at the old face of Cyan's. "We need to leave this place." He nudged his head and then stood up, grabbing his little bag of supplies before he followed in line behind his team. Cyan didn't seem so down as he was the other day, but Sabin could tell he was still in pain over it all and decided against talking with him. What Shadow said was true…people had their different ways of dealing with things and Cyan was definitely different than others. Sighing, he shook his head and looked away from the old man to his right, toward Shadow and his dog. They were always so silent…Sabin thought he heard the dog make sounds more than his master. That made him smile a bit, forgetting his earlier pains and thoughts.

"We should be there soon," Shadow called out to the others. "If we keep this pace, that is."

"Will you join me to Narshe?" Sabin asked the two. "If it's the Empire you want to rid the world of, I'm sure you'll be welcomed by my brother and my leader."

Cyan's eyes lit up, but Shadow's posture hardened. "I will take care of them in my own way," he growled, walking ahead of them painfully. Cyan laid a hand on Sabin's shoulder when they paused.

"I shall contribute my arm, if thine brother would allow it."

"He will; Edgar is a very honorable man. I'm sure he'll offer to help Doma after all of this as well. My father…he was close to the Doman king."

Cyan's eyes misted over. "You're…the son of Stewart?" Sabin impishly grinned, scratching at his neck as he continued to walk.

"One…but yea…I thought you already knew?"

"No, Prince Sabin. I assumed thou were friends with the King…not brothers. And I surely did not think much of that brother you had mentioned before hand."

"Please please, call me Sabin. I'm no longer a prince, I'm a monk."

"So I heard," he bowed his head. "Will thou forgive me if I cannot abide by your wishes, my young master?"

Sabin started to laugh. "Call me Sabin Cyan, really. I don't like being titled as royalty."

"If that is what thou wishes."

* * *

They had found the room Terra described, the same room she had fallen through the collapsed ground. It was dark except for the faintest white glow on the other side of the cave-in. Terra crept away from the edge, her eyes looked black in the dark. "I told you it was caved-in."

Edgar nodded to her as he leaned down to test the edges of the hole. It crumbled away into dust. _Hmm…I wouldn't be able to crawl around the sides._ He looked up at the back wall that ran around the hole and to the right of the glowing end. _Maybe we could etch along the corners using the wall? But Bannon is still a problem; could he do it with a broken arm?_ When he questioned the old man, Bannon smiled.

"Only one arm is broken and my legs are perfectly fine!" he chuckled and said he could do it. They both looked at Terra on key. She avoided their eyes.

"…isn't there another way?" She protested, shrinking into the darkness some more.

"I'm afraid not…if we don't get out of here rather soon, we'll be as frozen as that shard we need to get to."

"Okay then…I'll do it." She replied, defeated. As much as she feared dropping again, she didn't want to freeze to death. And then no one moved, looking at each other one by one. The young woman frowned. "Who…goes first?"

Edgar gripped his hands, stepping forward. "I'll go first." Bannon protested, but Terra was the one to stop them both.

"I'll do it…if I fall I can," she blushed. "Well, I'll be alright. If you two fall, you would have to wait for help, which might not come." As much as he hated it, Edgar knew she was right. He didn't want her to risk her life, not after what she went through. But she could make her own decisions…He nodded.

"Please be careful, m'lady." She promised and took a deep breath before she started to scoot along the wall's edge. Her foot slipped halfway there but found a hole the next instant. Edgar's heart had never beaten as fast as it was this moment. It was as if Terra was walking along the edge of an active volcano with full certainty of her fall and death. He wasn't sure what would happen, but he couldn't help seeing her fall to her death. Locke would _push_ him to his death if he let anything happen to Terra. And then everything was over…she was safely across, smiling at the other two ten feet away from her.

"It's not that bad, really." She promised, walking back a bit to give the next person room. "Maybe Bannon should go next?" Edgar nodded, helping Bannon over. His mind went to a lighter subject, noting Terra's improved character. _She seems more capable now…a lot more intelligent than when we met. Maybe she won't need protectors for much longer._ Bannon had made it across in a shorter time than Terra because he had visually remembered the best foot holes to use. And then it was the king's turn.

He glanced over to Terra who had just finished helping Bannon to sit on the floor, to rest. The old man closed his eyes, letting his head lean against the rocky walls as Terra turned to smile encouraging at Edgar. "You're next," she whispered, walking closer to the edge, just in case he needed help. When he started, he heard Terra's voice. "One step at a time…" he smiled, despite the dangers he was in. She really was just a sweet young lady. He was halfway there when Bannon started to speak.

"Do you hear that?" he shouted. "Someone is coming!" Terra turned then and saw firelight hurrying up the mine hall. Her body froze and her eyes went wide. She suddenly started to blurry her last time in this cave with the now…she couldn't move. Edgar appeared a second later, to see what the commotion was about. "Edgar is something with Miss Terra?" the king turned then, alarmed and found the girl as frozen as ice.

"Terra?" he asked, laying a hand on her shoulder. She shook free of her memory and slowly looked away from the rushing firelight to Edgar.

"Y-yes…I'm fine." she squeaked, shaking her head.

"I thought I heard something over here boss!" one of the voices to the light shouted. And then three men appeared. Terra's eyes went wide. They were Narshe guards, the very ones that she saw when she was on the bridge running into the cave. When the guards stopped before the three, they held their spears out. "Stay where you are!"

Edgar lifted his hands. "Please, we mean no harm." He lowered his hands. "I'm Edgar Figaro, king of Figaro." He gestured to Bannon and Terra. "And they are my friends…they won't cause trouble."

"Be quiet!"

"Please," he protested. "One of my companions is in need of help!"

"I said be quiet!" he shouted, stepping forward to jab at Edgar. Reacting as quickly as she could, Terra unsheathed her sword and sliced the spear in half. As quick as she had done it, the others charged forward. She turned and used the flat of her blade to run down the length of one of the spears before she broke it in half with one hit of her hand and then swiftly cut the next spear. All of this happened within seconds, before Edgar could draw his blade and offer help.

The weaponless men stood staring at Terra, mouth agape and eyes wide until one of them muttered. "Y-you're…you're the witch!"

* * *

_That's all for now! Its a pretty short chapter, and not much happened. There are reasons for this, a few of them have to do with it being a "more info on the character/s" reason and another because I didn't want much more to happen in this one chapter. I'm trying to give Sabin some space to "level" up a bit later. He's a character I don't write much of, so I want to write as much of him as possible in this novel. Hopefully I can actually manage him! _

_Thanks for reading and waiting for the update. I'm sorry for delays; I got really sick before and when I was better, I helped a few of my friends with their fictions and then just started my own! Plus...linguistics class is such a bugger! lol_

_I'm looking forward to reviews! Thankies!_

_Magitek~_


	17. Rapids

**Notes:**"Numbers" was for the little thing where Celes said "Why, there's only one of me." As well as the number of magic users :) Sorry to confuse guys! DrakeClawfang pointed something out concerning Leo in the last chapter. Please, if you are interested, refer to the reviews to see why I had made it seem that way. Did I forget anything in the reviews that needs to be answered? xD

Also, I received some help on this chapter by a lot of people on my forum, and their advice will continue to be applied to the chapter. So don't be surprise if you read it again and various changes (nothing big though) occurred :P

Lastly, this chapter will be mostly filled with Sabin's scenario and Locke's, and then a bit of Narshe.

**Chapter 17:** _Rapids_

The sun was beating down on the little team of three the entire day; there was no shade to seek refuge, there wasn't a stream to refill their waterskin or quench their thirst, and there wasn't any wind to refresh them; it was dry, heavy and hot! Even the field predators stayed away.

They passed a rock that provided perfect shade and intended on using it for a while but when a pride of young male lions could be seen snoozing, the trio decided against it and pressed on. The scenery changed from light green and brown, to dark green, shrubs, bushes and shady field trees became visible the further they went that day. Every now and then deer could be seen, eating grass uneasily, their black eyes darting about, looking for enemies. When the trio passed, they danced off in a gallop towards high rocks and thorny bushes, watching them pass their grazing spot. Sabin knew by the change in scenery and the new display of field grazers that they were closing in on a water source, and not too far away. When he mentioned this to Shadow and Cyan, the two told him they would keep an eye out for any water so they could refill their waterskins and get a bit of water in them.

But as the day rolled on and the sun started to fade behind the mountains, Sabin knew they wouldn't make it to water this day and dug through his pouches, for food to wet his mouth. He found collected nuts, stems of an herb native to the mountains of South Figaro, a few hard candies he snatched from the Returners' Hideout before leaving - which he intended to give Terra - and a few ripped bark pieces used for headaches and body aches. _We should rest,_ he thought tiredly. _I know I can't go on with my dry throat and aching bones…_He looked up to see how the others were faring and saw that Cyan was flushed and hunched over just a bit, most likely from hunger and back pains. Shadow, however,  
didn't seem tired. Sabin couldn't see his face to know if he was red-faced or if his lips were peeling, but he seemed fine. His dog though, was panting and his tongue looked really  
dry.

"Hold on guys," he called out to them, dropping to the cool grass. They paused and glanced back. "I need to rest. Let's stop for a bit, could do the dog some good too." As if he took resentment to that, Interceptor barked fiercely at the monk, but dropped to his haunches and then to his side, closing his eyes and panting tiredly.

Shadow simply nodded. "Very well then," he turned back toward the way he was heading. "I'll scout ahead, search for something to drink or eat. Get a fire going." And then he was off. Surprisingly he didn't call for Interceptor.

Sabin decided on starting a fire, wanting Cyan to rest his bones as much as possible. When the fire was lit, he gave the old man a tender but worried look. "If Shadow finds water, I can boil my bark and make you something for your aches Cyan."

"That would be most pleasant, young sir." Cyan replied, bowing his head as he lay flat across some grass, sighing as he stretched his arms and legs as much as possible. It was hours before the assassin appeared in the darkness in front of them. The moon had just parted from behind some clouds and offered light for his return. He was carrying a bulging water-skin.

"Found something did ya?" Sabin smiled as the assassin threw the skin to him. "This will hold over until tomorrow. I might need to use most of it for Cyan's bones though...?"

Shadow shrugged, "I don't mind. There is a stream three hours ahead of us, I can wait. But save some for Interceptor," he requested as he reached into a large bag hanging off his waist. He threw two dead rabbits down before them.

"There's your food." Sabin thanked the young assassin as he went back into the darkness and boiled a cup of water for Cyan and then filled a bowl of water for the dog, who graciously drank it all. Once Cyan had his bark water, Sabin started with skinning the rabbits and starting the stew. He threw the herbs into it for seasoning, which would also allow them to recover their strength. When it started to boil, emitting a tasty aroma, Interceptor whined and pawed at Sabin's feet like a puppy. The monk laughed and scooped some of the unfinished meat out of the stew and poured it into his bowl. When the food was done, Shadow appeared again, though he carried nothing. Sabin wondered where he had gone, and why but decided against asking and instead, prepared a bowl for each of his new teammates.

Shadow took his bowl away into the darkness, his dog following silently into the darkness, as if he knew his master did not want to be seen. With him gone, the silence that was sure to be there wasn't. Cyan told Sabin about his son and wife, about his bannersmen and king and how brave his people were. He told Sabin his son was aspiring to be a knight for the kingdom of Doma, to lead in his footsteps and to have a big family with lots of little girls he could make princesses. Cyan's story saddened Sabin almost as much as it saddened him to think of his dead parents and lost master, a man who practically raised him into adulthood and taught him what it truly meant to be a man. The love Cyan showed when he spoke of his family filled Sabin with loss, grief and anger...worse, it filled him with jealousy. He hadn't been able to keep his family together, or marry before his parents untimely end nor bore a child whom they would hold in their laps and tell them that they were their grandparents.

Sabin also felt happy for Cyan. Being ready to talk about his family meant he was healing. Maybe not completely and probably never, but he was healing slowly. All of his stories were so warm, so inviting that Sabin found himself asking more and more. And soon, Cyan was telling the story of how he met his dear wife all the way to their death, which invited tears in Sabin. He was glad it was dark; he didn't want the old man seeing him cry. Later that night, Sabin had stayed up nearly all night thinking of Cyan's stories. The grief behind them made it difficult for him to sleep, and when he went out to meditate, all he saw was the face of Cyan's son screaming in agony, his wife clutching her son as he died and...his parents, dying over and over again. He decided to take some of the bark tea himself, hoping it would calm him and to his relief it did, and he was soon asleep.

When morning rolled by, Sabin woke in a sweat. Cyan was kicking dirt into the fire, Shadow was hunched down and petting Interceptor, and the sun was rising into the pink-blue sky. He sat up, slowly, and rubbed at his neck before he got up and headed for the waterskin, hoping something was left. There was at least one gulp, luckily for him. When he handed the skin to Shadow, the assassin gave him a blank stare. "I think the imperial soldiers may be gaining on us," he muttered as he stood. "We have a few days ahead of them, but not for long. I have no doubt we'll make it to the waterfall before they catch us..."

"But?"

"Cyan is a problem."

"He's _what_?" Sabin hissed, ready to strangle Shadow.

"He's old, tired, hungry and thirsty - if he remains with us the Empire will catch up. I thought I should at least warn you."

"Thanks for your warning," he spat, shoving past him. "But I'm not leaving him behind, and that's final. Feel free to leave if you want!" he regretted it the moment it left his mouth and knew the assassin would disappear a moment later. But oddly, the man in black gave him a pert nod, whistled for his dog and continued on. In a way, Sabin thought it was a test of some sort...he didn't know for sure, but he just felt it. Why else would he stay with his little team?

Before he managed to get far, Cyan stopped him. "Young sir...may I ask thee a question?" Sabin glanced ahead to spot how far Shadow was and then nodded briskly. "Are thy really going to fight against the Empire in Narshe?"

"I plan too. But first we need to get there so I can warn my brother. We need to build up defenses first..." Cyan sighed, thanked Sabin for answering and then hurried on. _Why did he ask that? Is he changing his mind? I don't want to force anyone into our team, or a fight against Kefka or the Empire._ Sabin gave the old man a tired look before he looked up toward the sky. _No one should be joining a team to take down a corrupted regime...no one.  
_

* * *

The next morning, Locke wished he had apologized as soon as it happened. When he tried to say sorry, or tried to bring the Terra subject back up, Celes shot him an icy look and told him to leave it be. So with a defeated sigh, he left it be - at least for another time.

As they went, they could begin to see the monstrous sized mountains of Narshe without high ground. They had entered the same windy meadow he took with Terra after they left Narshe. They had just arrived at the south part that had a dirt road split through it; one that went north toward Narshe and one that went west toward the Figaro deserts. _Figaro castle is a lot closer than Narshe,_ Locke thought as he gazed at the trail with uncertainty. He checked his pouches and frowned at the low stock of food and medicine. _A stop at Figaro would in sure our safety to Narshe, but..._ he looked forward, to watch Celes. She was standing on the north trail, staring off into the distance as if she could see Narshe or Terra. He knew Celes would not stand heading to another destination when their target was Narshe. His doubts had been made true when he asked.

"If you want to go to Figaro, go ahead. _I'm_ going to Narshe." and then she started off, refusing to listen to his shouts about being low on supplies. Reluctantly, he followed.

When daylight fell and the sky darkened, readying for the moon to display itself, Locke called out for a stop. "We have been walking since last night..." he had replied when she questioned him. He could see that she was battling with herself on what do it, but then her eyes narrowed.

"Fine...we get up at dawn. If you don't get up, I'm leaving you behind."

He mumbled something under his breath before he headed off to gather some firewood, hoping that his time alone would clear his head and give him time to think of something to say to Celes about Terra, or the situation he made earlier. Luckily on his gathering trip he found a small stream and refilled his waterskin and Celes', which he had snatched before he left. When he got back, he couldn't help but grin. She had not started a fire for whatever reason. He would have hated walking around gathering wood for nothing.

He dropped the pile of wood into a horrid pile, dropped down to his knees and started to dig through his pouch for some tinder and his flint. With a few tries, he managed a flame and threw some grass into it and dry leaves before he added more wood. With the fire roaring, he looked up at Celes. "It would be easier if you could summon fire instead of ice, like Terra." he commented as he shifted around on his patch of grass before checking her expression, to see if his tease had taken into something more to her.

"How much longer until we reach Narshe?" she asked, ignoring the earlier comment he made.

"Well...a couple days even if we skip sleep. With sleep, about a week maybe? Not sure exactly...how we travel tells us when." she nodded to him to acknowledge his answer and he found himself wondering why she didn't feel the bitter cold of the night. _Must be because of her powers,_ he thought as he watched her icy blue eyes follow the flames in silence. _No, that can't be. She wouldn't have started the last fire if that was true..._"Oh, about Narshe. It might be best to keep who you really are, a secret. At least from the town."

"I'm not worried about _them_." she muttered before she rested her head against her hands, once again ignoring him.

Locke just stared at her, wondering exactly how she came about becoming the way she is.

* * *

The mountain they needed to climb to reach the waterfall was beyond any beauty Sabin had ever seen. It made the Figaro mountains look like a cheap imitation of nature. The trees, Cyan had told him, remained in a state of ever green - something Sabin only saw in spring trees back at Figaro - in the mountains and the grass and flowers were always pert with life. Something about the scene reminded Sabin of when he was little with his brother, when they had went camping in the Figaro mountains for a couple days. He remembered how the guards had to watch them and that they decided to ditch the company and really camp by themselves. Sabin laughed at the memory, rubbing at his neck at the thought of all the poison ivy they had gotten into and the bee stings they received digging through bushes for berries.

When Cyan asked what was the problem, Sabin answered with a smile and an 'oh nothing really' and continued on his way. He was glad for the memory at that moment, it took his mind off of his problems, off of his worries and even Cyan, whom he thought he was strong arming into the team and fight against Kefka. It didn't last long though. Shadow had turned to Cyan and asked how close they were to the waterfall, forcing Sabin to remember the current situation with a frown.

"We are close, master Shadow." the old man replied as he held a aged hand over his eyes so he could see in front of them. "We already climbed Mt. Tyma, so we must next make our path through Mt. Luethia, and then we will see the waterfall."

"Is Mt. Luethia the one ahead of us?" Sabin asked before the old man could finished. He pointed a tan finger to the last mountain ahead. "Shouldn't be long then, right?"

Shadow nodded. "We can make it before the sun sets. But I will be departing then."

Sabin nodded, understanding. Yet the assassin's disappear would greatly effect their chances of reaching Narshe, as well as upsetting since he had grown rather fond of the assassin's presence. "You_ could_ accompany us to Narshe you know."

Shadow's clear blue eyes were so cold and expressionless as they locked onto the monk's face. "My assistance will not be needed." before Sabin could press the issue, Cyan laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Do not pressure him, young s-...Sabin. Best thee leave him to his own decisions."

Convinced, Sabin shrugged. "Alright. If you change your mind, feel free to say so." the young monk pointed ahead. "Well, we better get started!" The black clad assassin gave a pert nod and then started off, his dog following him like a shadow. He turned back to Cyan. "The same goes for you too Cyan. If you want to back out, feel free. I'm not forcing you into this." Cyan's glazed eyes darkened then, not out of anger but of determination and revenge.

"Speak not these discouragements Sabin," the monk could tell he was trying his best to address him as he requested and knew it was hard for him to address royalty so...commonly. "I will help thee not because thee wish it, but because I wish it. My services are thine, Sabin." and then the old man gave him a soft bow and hurried on, his strides long and fast. Hearing that took some of Sabin's worries away, for which he was grateful and then ran to catch to them.

Mt. Luethia wasn't that spectacular with the knowledge of how the rest of the area looked. The appearance of the mountain and woods was still a beautiful image in the monk's mind, but it lacked what the rest had. The mountain, Cyan told him, isn't one of the best around the area. He told them that the mountain rarely received visitors and hardly ever had the pleasure of being painted by artists. The lack of attention the area had was probably for the best, Sabin had decided. He knew that attention to certain areas would result in its slow decay, as he had so commonly seen in the Figaro Mountain range. Shadow on the other hand, ignored the area completely, attentive on finding the waterfall and then taking his leave along side his giant, black bear of a dog.

Cyan's advice on letting the assassin do as he wishes, Sabin thought, was good advice but not advice he wanted to take. It would mean being short one member when he needed more and the loss of a great tracker and knowledge that had gotten him here. The closer they went, the closer came the assassin's departure, which Sabin wanted to avoid very much. Just then, as he was about to plead another case with the man, he heard his voice.

"We are close - listen." he muttered, standing still. Faintly, and very faintly, Sabin and Cyan could hear the rapids of the waterfall. Joy coursed through the monk and he grabbed Cyan and pulled him into a tight hug and then released him with a goofy grin on his face, ignoring Cyan's perplexed expression.

"Which way?"

Shadow was silent for a moment as he listened and thought, and then in a monotone voice, he said; "Ahead. I suspect the only way to the waterfall or the water in general, is to get atop Mt. Luethia."

"So we have to keep climbing? How can it be hidden like that?" the astounded the young monk.

Shadow's eyes concentrated on the mountain before them. "I can only guess its that the mountain surrounds the waterway and falls. The only other possibility of getting to the water, is if we backtrack and go through the mountains to the ocean shore and then head back to the direction of the mountains and find where the water meets with the ocean."

"That would take too long!" Sabin protested. "I don't have a day or three! I need to get to Narshe now!"

Ignoring his shouts and childish behavior, Shadow's eyes darkened as he turned to look at the muscled man. "Then you climb and jump." A growl escaped his mouth and then in a furry of anger, he smashed his fist into the ground, shaking and cracking the ground. It startled Cyan, but Shadow sat still, perfectly calm. "I told you before that the waterfall was the only way and that jumping was your only choice. Did you not believe what I told you?"

Abashed, Sabin calmed and lowered his eyes. "No...I had thought we could find another way. Jumping could lead me someplace else entirely, and I cannot afford that."

"There is only but one other way off this island; Mobliz boats, and when I was there, they were sold out completely and the next would arrive in three months. This is your only chance to get to Narshe quickly, unless you wish to wait months of waiting and traveling. Decide now."

Sabin's heart fluttered. _Risk everything...or wait back at Mobliz? No, that's not an option. I would have to get back to Mobliz and then wait. What would you do Edgar? Would you make the jump? Would you risk it?_ A sigh escaped his lips as he looked up at the assassin and old samurai. "We...we make the jump!" Shadow nodded and then whistled for Interceptor and then continued, his dog sniffing around the grass as they moved. Cyan gave Sabin an unsure look before going and said.

"If thee are sure..." and then he was off and Sabin followed close behind.

At the top of Mt. Luethia, Sabin could see the fields they had passed through, the rest of the smaller mountains they had gone through and the ocean straight ahead, miles of course. And then he looked down and could see the rapids below the roaring watefall that seemed to have been miles long. A shiver ran down his spine and his brow beaded over with sweat. If it was dangerous to jump from a smaller waterfall, how dangerous was it to leap into one of this size, of this speed? He worried the most for Cyan and his old bones and asked the old man once more, if he was sure. After a small rant of sorts from Cyan, Sabin backed off and then carefully went to the edge of the falls, to gaze upon its rapids once more.

This is suicide. He thought coldly and then turned to look upon the assassin's masked face. "And you are sure about leaving?" he nodded and the monk's stomach fell a bit. "And which would be our course?"

"Whatever you do, stay to the right of the rapids the best you can, and you'll get there. Though I can't guarantee your safety through it all." his arms had been crossed then, but he untucked them and then dug through his pockets and held something out to Cyan. "Potions, in case you should get hurt. It won't do much, but it should keep you alive."

Cyan accepted them with a wry smile. "Thank you, master Shadow." he bowed his head and stuffed the potions inside of a bag hanging off his waist and then stepped back for Sabin to step up.

"Be careful," the monk muttered. Shadow let his head bob in a weak gesture to show some form of thanks and then whistled for his dog. "And try to avoid the forest again...not even with your skill could you make it out alone." Shadow scoffed and walked off. Interceptor stayed behind for a few seconds, watching Sabin with an odd shine in his eyes. And then he whimpered and charged off after his master. "Well," he turned to Cyan and the waterfall. "Let's jump, and remember to be careful not to hit anything and stay to the right!"

Staring off the side of the falls was a little unnerving, but with a thought of his brother, it vanished. Cyan's eyes had widened when he saw the height of the falls. "If you-" he gasped when Cyan jumped first, the only sound that he made was the roaring of his body through the air and the faint splash of his body. With a grin of encouragement, Sabin leapt over the side of the mountain and shouted in joy as the wind whipped his face, and then his body hit the water and he sunk fast in the rapids. Tossing his body around like a ragdoll, the rapids tried to keep his body to the left, near the sharp rocks and fallen tree trunks. When his head bobbed out of the water for the flattest of seconds, he saw Cyan's head to the right and strained himself to get to the right, but the tides had him in their claws. Underneath the water, everything was mixed. He couldn't tell what was up or what was down, and it only made it harder for him to catch up to Cyan. Then something grabbed his arm and pulled him, off to the side. When his head managed to get out of the water, he took a giant swallow of air and shook his head clear of water, glad to see Cyan clinging to the side of a tree. "Are thee okay, young master?" Sabin allowed the old man his slip up and nodded, coughing out the water.

"I-I'm fine, thanks for the hand." he got himself attached to the tree as well, so he could see which was which. "We need to keep to the right..."

"Might be we hold onto each other?" Cyan shouted over the rapids. He thanked the gods that what was happening distracted the old man for an embarrassed blush appeared on his face. His brother would never let it down if he heard about it, but he knew he had no other choice and nodded. Locking his arm around Cyan's, they gently let go of the tree and tried to stay close to the right.

* * *

"Haven't you killed enough!" the man barked, bearing his teeth at the young woman before him.

Terra froze at the man's words, her eyes distant and her face frozen. Using the moment, Edgar pushed pass Terra and planted his foot upon the middle soldier's - the one that had just spoke - chest and kicked him to the ground and then quickly pushed another against the cave's wall, knocking him unconscious. The third soldier turned and tried to run off, dropping his weapon in the process. Edgar laid the soldier against the wall before he chased after the last one. He didn't want the whole Narshe guard platoon chasing them down, so he jumped on the young man and held him down before he finally put pressure on the wound of his shoulder and within seconds the man passed out.

Bannon had moved pass Terra while Edgar was handling the last man to check on the two others. They were alive and seemed to be fine other than what Edgar had dealt. When the king came back carrying the last soldier, he leaned him against the wall by his companion and sighed, relieved. "We should build them a fire..." the old man muttered, making Edgar grunt in frustration.

"We have no time, we need to go."

"Well we can't just leave them in the cold!" he protested.

"We can't afford to waste time, sir! We need to tell the Elder about the Empire and find the frozen Esper! Quickly!" just then Edgar noticed Terra, standing perfectly still with her gaze off into the darkness with a thoughtful, dark expression. It felt as if she was thousands of miles away, yet there. As Bannon took his overclock off and laid it over the three men - who were now lined up against the wall - Edgar went to see how Terra was fairing.

"Are you well, m'dear?" when she didn't answer, he asked once more only he addressed her with her name. She blinked and then looked up at the tall man before her with a apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry...I...I was just thinking." he leaned down, grabbed her sword and then handed it to her. Again he noticed a distance in her eyes when she replied.

"We shan't linger here any longer. We shall find a cozy house so you and Bannon to warm up. But first, we need to leave the cave. Are you well enough to walk?" she nodded. "Stay close to me then," he then turned to Bannon. "Let's hurry on. Its blasted cold and I could do for a drink of warm, buttered rum." Terra weakly sheathed her sword and hurried close behind Edgar and beside Bannon, her thoughts still on the soldiers and what had transpired.

The exist from the mines, at least one of the many exists and one that was not hidden deep within the mountains, was not far from where the soldiers had cornered them. The caves had been so cold that when they arrived outside on one of the newly refurbished bridges, they felt warmer almost immediately. Bannon released a sigh as he hurried out under the evening sun, not paying attention to the fact that they had been in the cave until late afternoon. Terra gave the bridge an odd stare before she asked if they could hurry on.

_We finally made it._ Edgar thought tiredly as he walk along side his teams across the bridge. Finally they could turn the tides of this war against the empire.

* * *

_That's the end of this Sabin chapter! There will surely be more to come, I promise! It was both fun and challenging to write for Sabin, as I have never really done so. And with some new knowledge, thanks to MoogleTerra, I have learned a lot behind the truth of the FF6 translation. A lot of what I suspected and finally has been confirmed. I would like to form my characters around the bases they were originally suppose to take, so I hope you all have patience with me. xD  
_

_Firstly, I hope that it was a good chapter and that I cleared as much of the grammar errors as possibly. If you see anything wrong or might be you have some suggestions, I would be happy to take them! Secondly, thank you ALL for reading my fanfiction and keeping through it with me, I really appreciate it! So thank you! Lastly, thank you for the people who have helped me with my writing, grammar and more, especially MoogleTerra for guiding me, offering help and giving me the inspiration to keeping writing this piece!_

_Well, that's all for now! Keep an eye out for another update!_


	18. Child of the Veldt

**A's Notes:** I decided to name it "Child of the Veldt" because of a walkthrough on youtube, though I am unsure if it is actually connected with the game. But not only that, but because it sounded better than what I initially had—"The Wild one". So say thanks to Flamingruby! Oh, and once again, various switching back and forth mostly from Sabin and Locke's POV. I had a bit of a rough time writing for Sabin's part, at least for the start. I didn't know how to get them to Mobliz and how to figure out how to feed Gau. xD But, I did enjoy it, very much! If you have any suggestions on how to improve, I would be most appreciative!

Oh! Lastly, the switches between the POVs do not occur the same day basis for each character. It goes back in time, and then back into the future to explain it. If you do not understand, I would love to rephrase. lol

**Chapter:** Child of the Veldt

_Oh no,_ he thought when something poked his ribs. _Not _this_ again_. He opened his eyes tiredly and frowned when he saw a blurry face. All he could make out was the person's mint—green hair. _What? Terra?_ And then his vision cleared and what was before him was a boy with light red eyes and tan skin. He was rather skinny, but the muscle etched into his skin showed he was an energetic young youth. _Oh..._ "Who...are you?" he asked as he sat up, grimacing when his back started to ache. That's when he noticed Cyan opposite of him closer toward the beaches of the water. The boy gave a gentle rumble of his voice before he took off into the horizon. With a groan, Sabin lifted himself off the sandy beaches and onto his legs, to inspect where they had washed in.

All he could see was a vast plain before him, gifted with various packs of trees and herds of grazing animals. _Where are we?_ He heard Cyan getting up. _We can't possibly be in Figaro territory, could we?_ The old man voiced his thoughts. "This—this is the Veldt."

"The Veldt?" Sabin thought over his training with his master and the maps he had glanced over in his workroom.

"'Tis a wild and dangerous land, inhabited by all manner of ferocious beasts..." the gentle samurai answered as he came to stand beside the young monk.

"This is not good," Sabin grumbled. "We are further away from Narshe now!"

"Calm down Master Sabin," Cyan said gently as he laid a hand on his shoulder. "Mobliz lies just north of here, let us head there. The Mobliz boats could take us to Narshe."

"_If_ they are there." he muttered before he dusted the sand off his clothes. "I have a feeling our bad luck will follow us."

"Perhaps," Cyan admitted and for the first time since their journey, Sabin saw annoyance in the old man's eyes and blushed like a child. "We shan't know unless we hurry." and then he muttered something under his breath when he noticed the torn pieces of his clothes and the cuts underneath them. Sabin thought he heard a swear and gave Cyan an odd stare.

_I hope he didn't hit his head on the way down._ He thought as he tightened his sash and retied his boots. "Alright then, I guess we have no choice. I would hate having to think about what to do if the boats aren't there." Cyan gave the young monk a firm nod before he started on, following a similar path the boy from before took. "Do you know the way then?" he hollered out to him.

"I do," he admitted with a thin frown, and then continued softly, "I escorted thy father here many years ago."

"You did?"

"Aye; Thy father was an honorable man, one of the best swordsman I have ever seen, which is why he was picked to accompany me. We arrived in Mobliz after I had made a visit to Figaro Castle to retrieve him." he replied as he gently lifted himself over a bump of rocks and dead weeds, Sabin was close in pursuit.

"Why was he picked?"

"The answer depends, young master, on which 'why' thou are asking me." his voice remained gentle, but Sabin thought he heard a similar annoyance in his voice. It was something Sabin's Master would often take if he was taking a difficult time learning something.

"Well, why was my father needed? Then you can tell me why he was picked."

Cyan laughed a hearty laugh before he paused for a slight instance. "Firstly, he was needed to end a tyranny in Mobliz's surrounding mountains. Secondly, young master, I answered _why_ he was picked already." He was starting to get on Sabin's nerves with his demeaning attitude. He struggled back an angry line of words because he knew exactly why Cyan was upset. So he did not fault him any.

"I do not remember this. Was it before me and my brother were born?"

"Aye, it was. Thy father was a young lad, unmarried at the time, and full of pride. I fought besides Ser Stewart long enough to know his pride blinded him in warfare, so I was instructed to keep a close eye on him by my king. We arrived at the mountains three days after and found the caves swarming with thieves and criminals."

"The tyranny was brought on by mere thieves and criminals?" Sabin asked with disbelief. "How long did this battle go on for? Please tell me not very long!" He followed Cyan pass a path of thorn bushes toward a steep hill.

"You underestimate our opponents, Master Sabin. These were not just mere criminals we dealt with, but men of a special brand who had formed a very known group called 'Baron Thieves'. They were led by a furious man of great intelligence and power. Our battle lasted us two days, one of which happened once we defeated most of the men in the caves and fled to the open with the wounded."

"What happened then?" he asked with such a childish tone, he felt as if he was back in Figaro, sitting on the floor with his brother listening to the tales of the old men who had served in wars. It made his heart warm, but only for a moment. Cyan's lips pulled a bit into a smile.

"Ser Stewart defeated the man leading the group and rescued the captured souls within the cave...one of which was an orphan girl named Crystale. Thy father went on to marry her." they had just finished reaching the end of the steep hill.

_Crystale?_ Sabin thought. _That's how he met our mother?_ During his life, his father refused to speak about his mother freely, unless it was the known facts their history teaches or citizens knew. It hurt that he would not know his mother beyond what others considered just basic history, but he knew it hurt his father to speak of her. Did his brother know of this? Perhaps someone with more knowledge in Figaro told him after he left. "Tell me...what was she like?"

"Crystale?" he asked with a frown and turned to him. "Thou are asking questions I hold no answers to, young master. He took her back to Figaro two days afterward, intending to return her to her homeland." when the young monk sighed and pressed on, Cyan spoke out, "I apologize Master Sabin, I know nothing of her." He knew he should have thanked him anyways, but he was too upset to even speak and continued on as if Cyan hadn't spoken.

The Veldt was a rather bland sight, Sabin decided later the day as the boiling sun started to fade from the sky. Not only was its scenery exactly the same everywhere, but he had to deal with the terrible temperature and the blasted bird sized insects that desperately clung to his skin. As if the blistering heat of the day wasn't enough to torture travelers, the night brought an uncanny chill that froze grass and made their breath puff out in clouds. They had nothing with them but Sabin's small bag tied around his waist that held one rolled tent, his fighting gloves, some collected food, herbs and a black rock he used to create fires. When they decided to stop for the night they settled by a dead tree — a pitiful sight it was too — and pulled the only tent up against it, hoping it would keep them warm enough to survive the night. As Cyan settled the last of the tent, Sabin used the black rock on some wood he gathered and created a fire. In moments, the air around him warmed considerably and he hunched closer to it, shivering. _How could a place like this get so blasted cold?_

As if he was reading his mind, Cyan sat down as well and commented on the cold. "Perhaps it would be wise to find something to eat."

"That's a good idea and all, but where are we supposed to look? It's a vast, flat land and in the dark, we could easily get mauled by hunting animals."

"Would you rather freeze, young master?"

A growl emitted from Sabin as he crossed his arms. "If you are hungry, eat what I have in my bag and leave me be." Cyan gave the young man a gentle stare before he stood up.

"You seem distracted, young master." Sabin lowered his eyes a bit, regretful for his behavior. _Calm, collected...I need to be like that, remember Sabin!_ "What was the teachings thy master passed to you for these direct situations?" with a rush of utter embarrassment, Sabin looked away. _Meditate..._he had an old retainer of Doma telling him his master's teachings. _How...humiliating._ He thought tiredly and then rose.

"I apologize Cyan for my behavior. I am worried for my brother...I will see what I can do about something to eat. In the mean time, watch and feed the fire. Don't let it go out."

As Sabin marched away from the warmth and safety of the fire, he couldn't help but think that meeting Cyan was somehow a play of fate. Perhaps he was there to keep him on his path? Remind him of his master's teachings? Whatever the reason, Sabin knew Cyan would provide a valuable addition to the team and maybe even a voice of wisdom in his ears, something he now lacked by loss.

* * *

The next morning was too soon for Locke; he rose with an ache in his back that formed from his desperation. He had curled up into a ball by the fire with his back pressed against a rock, that had chilled considerably during the night. Celes was up by then and was checking over her sword, waiting. He was surprised she waited for him to wake to leave and hurried to his feet, not wanting to invoke her temper again. He warmed a cup of water and added some local herbs to it and gave her a cup as well. "Since we don't have anything to eat, this should hold us over until we come across something." She accepted the cup reluctantly. "We are very close, a day or two perhaps. I think if we skip tonight's sleep and continue on, we'll see Narshe's mountain guard-posts tomorrow around noon." She simply swished the liquid in the cup around as he spoke, watching the water whirl with a bored expression on.

He wondered what put her in this mood as he stomped out the fire. Was it something he had said the previous night, or didn't say? _No, she doesn't seem the type at all to care what I say or didn't say._ He determined as he watched her finally sheath her sword and pour the rest of the liquid out by the fire._ It must be Terra_, he realized. _She must be worried about her again._ He wanted to tell her not to worry, again, but knew that it would only anger her. When he finished gathering all his camping items, he went on ahead, not sure if he should tell her he was going or not. His promise was determined to bite him in the ass though and he grudgingly turned around to tell her to get a move on when he saw her following behind. She marched passed him with a blank expression on and paused to demand why he was stopping. "Uh...no reason." and so he continued on.

He wondered then what Celes would do when she saw Terra, or vice-verse. _Would it invoke memories from Terra?_ He thought as he watched Celes' blond hair swing back and forth as she walked. He hoped it would not cause any problems.

* * *

They had woken early and arrived at Mobliz within two days of travel, to Sabin's surprise. He did not expect Cyan's memory to be so good, but he was thankful it was because he could have been traveling the harsh fields of the Veldt for days before he ever found some civilization.

Mobliz wasn't a very large town; Sabin could only spot two children at the moment, chasing each other around a patch of beautiful flowers. The mother was sitting on a bench a bit away from them, sewing. _What a nice place_, he thought, glad for some form of distraction. The mother of the children looked up and noticed them. "Sir Cyan?" she asked with disbelief as they neared. The old retainer of Doma bowed his head before he smiled. "I haven't seen you in years. How is Doma?" and so Cyan explained what happened in great pain. The woman gasped, tears in her eyes. "Our king...? Damn the empire!" she growled, and then tried to clam down. "Will you stay in Mobliz long before you depart?"

"I'm afraid we can't." Sabin answered for him. "We must get to Narshe as fast as we can."

"Master Sabin is correct, m'lady." he gave her another bow. "We have urgent business there that will save lives." and then he suddenly remembered. "M'lady, have you any news of the Mobliz's shipping fleet?"

"They left three days ago, sir, for Tzen." Sabin swore then and Cyan apologized for his behavior and thanked her for her time. The woman nodded, understanding. "Have a safe trip, Sir Cyan and young sir."

"We shall be careful, m'lady. Goodbye." when they were clear of the woman, Cyan. "We missed our chance."

"What do we do now?" he asked with desperation. "I can't wait weeks, or months!"

"I am not sure." Cyan replied with a bit of panic himself. "I was not expecting this."

"Are there chocobos to rent, then?"

"Might be, young master, but they do not cross oceans." the young monk's face darkened then. "Let us resupply and think it over. How much Gil do you posses?"

Sabin weakly dug through his pouch and produced."I have three hundred fifty Gil."

"I've only four hundred ten," Cyan asked for his coin. "If we only buy supplies, we should have enough to make it to the northern shore, the closest we can get to another continent."

"I guess we can't rent a room then." Sabin dropped the coin in the old man's hand. "I would like to get as much walking in today though, before we set down again." Cyan gave him a firm nod, understanding, before he took off for the potion shop. _What am I going to do? _Sabin decided to explore the town while Cyan took care of their important needs; it was only suitable he did it, he knew the town better and the people, and whatever costumes this town might have.

From where he was standing he could see an up turned boil of land where a rather new house sat. The rest of the houses, he noticed, were aged, but not falling apart. He wondered if it was a home for some new villagers since he generally never saw new houses being built in towns nowadays. _For such a small town, they sure look like they make enough to keep things going evenly._ Perhaps it was the import they had? He remembered hearing his master comment on the fish they could catch in their oceans and that nobles and even the Empire sought the delicious fish. His stomach growled then. Ever since he took off on his journey he ate nothing but mountain goat, fruits, nuts and assorted grasses to keep him well in health. He missed the taste of salted pork and honey-pickled pears, and even the burning sip of Redwood wine, a drink so absolutely delicious it was specially reserved for royalty. He wondered then, if Figaro still had it in stock, and if Edgar often had it. _Yes_, he decided, _when it is all over I shall sit and have my honey-pickled pears and a whole salted pork, complete with the wine!_ And if he could have those things beside his brother, it would be a perfect ending to the world's turmoil.

With a sigh, he pushed away from the weapon shop's back wall and headed east to the potion shop, intending to meet up with Cyan out of boredom when he caught sight of a black and brown dog and gasped. _Interceptor...!_ And when he hurried around three men trading goods, he paused in his tracks. It was not Interceptor, and its owner was definitely not Shadow. For a moment he had thought, rather hoped, Shadow changed his mind and went after them. But instead, a scrawny figure stood in the place of what he hoped. The young man had a red bandana around his head that pushed his sandy brown hair up like flower pedals with a missing right eye, or Sabin thought since the young man sported a black eye patch. He was busy trying to take something out of the dog's mouth.

"Come on now Shepperd, give me the rag!" he growled, trying to rip it free of the young pup. Sabin laughed a bit and headed over. With one pat behind the dog's ear and a scratch, the pup Shepperd, released it and Sabin handed it to the young man. "Thanks stranger!"

"May I ask why such a ragged piece of cloth is so important?"

"Well, its evidence!" when he was asked of what, he grinned. "Out hunting, I noticed a kid running with a herd of beasts!" Sabin rubbed at the back of his neck as the lad finished what he was saying. "—Does his parents know where he is?"

"A boy you say?"

"Yes! Of course! It sounds strange, but when I was hunting some field elk, the boy came out of no where and started attacking me! He spoke some weird language...no, it sounds like he was imitating the elk! No one believes me, so I thought I'd get evidence. This rag—" he lifted it up into view. "—was torn off the kid's pants the second time I went out hunting. I've been trying to get this dog here"—he gave the pup a stern stare.—"to hand it over, but he was really attached to it."

"And you are sure this boy exists? What did he look like?"

"Well, I didn't get a good look at him. Second time we 'battled', it was night and all I could see was the glow of red eyes! But during the day, I thought I saw a flash of green..."

_Green!_ Sabin suddenly remembered the boy who woke him. _It must be him! I knew it, he lives in the field!_ "Where were you when you were attack?"

"The first time, I was about...um, maybe four-five hours south the first time, second time it was a full day's worth southeast, near Crescent Mountain Cave."

"Thank you young sir for your time," Sabin said before he bowed his head and turned away from the lad. He wanted to find the boy out of great curiosity, but he knew did not have time to do such a thing. But he worried...one day one of the villagers would not take kindly to be attacked when out for hunting for food. Could the boy handle himself then? Annoyed, Sabin paused in his tracks. So many things were so determined to keep him from getting to his brother quickly, and he knew that was a sign and would only persist. It was something his master said '_Things happen for a reason Sabin. Your arrival to me was set in stone since your birth, your brother was set to be king and you to be what you are now_'.

It was one of the last things Sabin had managed to hear from his master before he took off the next day for spiritual training in the woods. If his master was right, this boy was supposed to be caught, or at least talked to. And if that was meant to be, it was meant to be for him to be late to his brother. And then he chuckled. _So be it then...take care of yourself brother until I arrive._

But the problem of how still laughed at him. _Perhaps when we find the boy, a way will open up for us._ He turned then, to find Cyan once again, when he saw the old man parting from the item shop, a decent sized bag of goods in his arms. He gave a firm nod to the young monk and Sabin took it as a 'sit still' and waited patiently. When the old man was caught up, he handed Sabin the bag and showed him what they had left; hundred twenty two Gil, forty of which he never saw the Gil of. When he asked, Cyan rubbed at his chin.

"Marrien coin, the native's choice in currency. It is not as pricy as the Figaro Lion coin thou had, so I was able to buy much with it. I ended up with having to exchange currency the rest of the way so I would not have been forced to overspend and waste."

"Wise," Sabin noted as he leaned over to gain a better look at the coin. The Marrien coin had a lady's face on the front, with odd red tattoos under her eyes and dog like ears. "What's up with the coin's face?"

"Local legends." Cyan answered as he stuffed the remainder of the coin into his coin purse until Sabin was free to take them. "It is a rather new style, I have noticed. Once it was the Eagle Shun from a legend of the northern mountains, near the phantom forest. I see the mayor melted the coins down for this; must have been around ten years ago judging by the rarity of the old coins."

"Perhaps that's in our favor," he muttered. "I decided we need to find someone before we set off again. My brother will hold out until we arrive, I'm sure. And I believe the Empire had to head back to their land before they could go to Narshe, which puts us at a considerable deal of time ahead of them either way."

"And who is this person?"

"A boy who lives in the Veldt." he answered, not noticing two men who had come up behind them. "And once we find him, we need to find a way to get to Narshe, the quickest way possible."

"Narshe you say?" one of the men behind him asked with a smile. "I have been there twice, very cold. What in heavens would you need in such an ice land?" Sabin and Cyan turned to him and explained that some of their friends were in trouble of being attacked by mercenaries. A lie, Sabin concluded, that was best for their ears. "Hmm, a pickle they are in. Say, my friend here just told me some very interesting news that you might be interested in."

Sabin gave them a narrow look. "How much?"

"Oh please, don't wound me with such words," the man said with a shrug and a smile that told Sabin all too much. _He's a swindler._ "I don't want anything you have or can give, and I wouldn't want anything you could get and give."

"Then it is for free?" he dared to ask.

"In a way, yes. I only require you to do as you want to do."

"A trick?" Cyan growled, crossing his arms.

"No! No!" he raised his hands up, to defend himself. "I want you to find the boy you spoke of. I know he exists, and he keeps us from the cave down south."

"Treasure hunters? You want to hunt there for treasure?"

"No, no, I am a historian of Mobliz. I have been given a grant of money from the mayor of Jidoor so I may build a museum here. I need artifacts to fill the place and to convince this mayor I can do it." that's when he pointed to his friend. "He is the knowledgeable one about it all, but we would be thankful if you managed to convince the kid to let us in. Its not as if we want the hides of his precious friends."

"Friends? What do you mean?"

"All of what I say and justly so." he answered with a quick, charming smile. "The boy hides among animals as if he's one. Haven't you heard of men being attacked by a savage boy in the fields? They say he won't let anyone touch an animal or beast as long as he's there. I only know he exists when he attacked me and my men for going near the caves."

"And these caves? Are they the same caves in Crescent Mountain?" Cyan wondered as he lowered his arms. "Is it not dangerous to go there? Perhaps he means to protect you."

"It is, but I am thirsty for knowledge you see. So, will you help us?" he gave Sabin a long look before he turned it to Cyan. "Or shall we continue...?"

_He's the only one who could tell us a way of getting to Narshe and I am going to talk to the boy._ With a sigh, he nodded and took the man's hand. "You have a deal. Shall we hear the secret?"

The two men went to whisper to each other, and then the silent man turned to them. "I suppose so. It won't hurt much if you end up lying to us, anyway. There are many ways to reach Narshe from Mobliz; the mountains north, the ocean on various sides, blue chocobo and the fastest, I say is the path in the mountains; strong currents run through Serpent Trench. Hmm, have you heard of it?" they both answered with a no. "It is a waterway in the mountains with currents so fast and absolutely deadly, but they can take you to Narshen area nearly instantly. I have tested it thrice myself, but not with my body. I made an iron casket with notes in it and threw it into the water. Nearly half of the time, I found them washed up near Narshen or Figaro shores, depending on the routes they took. I have no idea where the rest went, but perhaps they arrived near Narshe that I have yet to discover."

"And this Trench...we use it to get to Narshe?"

"Haha! Were you not listening? It is dangerous, and not because of the crushing water, but because it is impossible to get air once it drags you under! You need a way to breathe, and then you can use the Trench, I believe." he smiled, and it was a sad one. "Hope into the current, and you'll be swept to Nikeah!"

"But this is worthless information if we can't breathe under the water."

"Perhaps, perhaps not." he answered with a snap of his fingers. His friend pulled out a drawing of some sort of helmet. "Too bad our under water breathing devices were stolen." he gave the paper to Sabin. "Find that, and you can manage it. The devices were stolen from us while we were out in the fields. We woke one morning to find them missing. If you find them, keep them. Think of it as an extra 'thank you' for clearing the way to the mountain for us."

"So if we find this, we can take the trench?" the man nodded to Sabin. "Any idea of who might have stolen it?" the man laughed.

"Why, if we knew that, we would have it, would we not? I'm afraid that is all we know. Perhaps you can look around, or ask about?"

"Master Sabin." Cyan pulled him away from the conversation. "The sun sets; we must hurry on for the boy or set up camp."

"Alright alright, we'll leave." he muttered as he turned back to the men. "We will find the boy and convince him to leave the cave be for you. We hope we were not lied to." and when the men promised they were nothing but truthful, the two men bid them fair well and continued up the path to the house on the pushed up land, smiling at each other. It set a terrible feeling in Sabin's stomach, but he knew he had to trust them—it was their only way. He nodded to Cyan. "Alright then, let's go. The sooner we find the boy, the sooner we can look for the devices."

=(0000)=

_At least we have a defined target now_, Sabin thought tiredly as he followed behind Cyan once more. The new destination was south of Mobliz, where the lad had told him he had been attacked by the boy. At least they did not have to backtrack to Doma and then go through the mountains and across the ocean to get to Narshe, which would take months. Worry for his brother bit at him and every time he thought of him, he thought of Narshe being overwhelmed by Imperial soldiers, Magitek Tanks and worst of all, Kefka Palazzo. How would Edgar, Bannon and Terra keep off the Empire without him and Locke? And even if they were present, it was a terrible outnumbering he feared.

He wanted to tell Cyan that it was a doomed cause, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it because he knew he needed his help no matter what. _Tricking him, that is what I am doing._ He looked up to look at the old man. _No, I told him my plans, he knows the Empire is heading to Narshe, he should know the amount of men we will be fighting._ He sighed then, wondering if he was doing something terrible by deceiving Cyan and finding a justification for it, even if it was only a bit. The truth was Sabin didn't know how many men would be there. They only knew Narshe was next on the Imperial's list. It could only be a hundred or maybe even two hundred men, or the entire army. He was sure he could take down a fair portion alongside his brother and his friends, maybe even half their platoon if they had the time to work out plans. He knew his brother was over confident when it came to things like this and with Terra around and with a person like Locke around, it was bound to become a problem that would not be able to be resolved so easily. He hoped Locke was not already present in Narshe for that alone and that Edgar wouldn't do anything bold to charm Terra. He started to laugh then. Knowing his brother would flirt to his deathbed eased him and he had hoped that if he was trying to woo Terra, she paid him a healthy dose of pain. Perhaps a slap would keep him down for a bit.

"Master Sabin?" the young monk looked up, apologetic for spacing out. "Are you well?"

"Huh?" he remembered his laughter, and nodded. "I am fine. I just remembered something I found hilarious, is all." he looked around and asked how far they had traveled south.

"It might have been fifteen, Master Sabin, or eighteen miles." and he didn't even bother to comment that there was at least five hours left of sunlight. "We should keep going as far as possible."

"Blasted kid," Sabin growled. "I think we should go on through the night."

"The temperature drops considerably at night," Cyan remarked simply. "A walk through the night without a fire would kill us." and then he was off again, his strides long and energetic.

"The kid manages it." he muttered as he caught up to the old samurai, looking on toward the vast east. They could see the bumps of Crescent Moon Mountain poking out of the horizon. They continued on until the sun started to descend, and then they stopped to make camp. The fire was easy to start, but the tent proved to be far more difficult. When they finally tied it down, Sabin went out hunting. He returned later in the night with a rabbit, and a handful of berries, and they ate in silence. The next day carried on much the same.

Cyan occasionally said "how far they went" before everything went back to silence. It was, at first, unbearable for Sabin. Usually on his journeys he would speak—even if they didn't understand or reply back—to the animals around him in the mountains of Figaro, but here there were no animals he could do the same to. And even if there were, he did not dare to speak aloud to them, or else look crazed to his traveling companion.

Well, at least he had one to thing to look forward to; his brother and his return.

* * *

"So this is the new Narshe?" Bannon's voice rang out from the cold air, though his face was hidden behind the fur lined around his cloak. It was a large place as expected of a mining city against one of the best world resources. He could see houses dotting the mountains, pushing out of the bases on the ground, houses built on stand polls and decks built on brick walls and doors sticking out of the ground. Everything was used, he could tell.

"What a fascinating city! Last I remember it there were but a few houses here and there, but now?" the old man proclaimed with a smile and wonder in his eyes. Edgar nodded in agreement as the old man turned to look at Terra, seeking her thoughts on it. As his answer, he saw her staring at the bridge and coughed. "This is the first time you could inspect the city, right lass?" she looked at him when he spoke as if he had poked her. "Now you can look upon it without the need to hurry." she faintly smiled, and she knew he could tell it was fake. "Or perhaps a warm cup of mead and bread will suffice?" he gave her a warm smile, hoping to ease her worries. Before she could reply, however, Edgar spoke.

"Mead and food, I'm afraid, will have to wait." he gestured to the house across the bridge. "Arvis' house, yes?" he looked at Terra for a confirmation, who muttered back her reply. "Then we will see him first, and might be he'll have something to feed us until we manage a room at an inn."

"Oh Edgar, surely that can wait? It is blasted cold and we are bloody hungry!" Bannon growled before he glanced over at Terra. "You aren't forgetting your manners, are you Edgar? We have a lady amongst us now."

Edgar's face pulled in a bright smile as he passed Terra a long look. "Never would I forsake my manners, especially to such a beauty." he took her hand, surprising her—which caused her cape she had wrapped around her mouth and nose to fall down her shoulders—, and then he placed a delicate kiss on her hand before he glanced up at her, trying to put on his most charming expression. "Would m'lady object if she were to eat and sleep at the house of Arvis? Surely I would reward her later?"

A shade of scarlet red crossed her face as she stuttered. "I—I—I would not mind," she answered, a puff of stark white escaped her mouth. Bannon sighed and crossed his arms.

"I do mind, but I am no lady." he shrugged. "Let us be done with it then."

Edgar thanked Terra and winked at her before he led the way across the bridge, talking to Bannon as he did so. Terra gave the cave behind them one long, hard stare before she reached for her fallen cape and then hurried after the others. The bridge was just as creaky as she remembered and as far off the ground—a heart pounding height that made her queasy. The pieces that had broken during her last use was repaired as well. She hoped it would be the last time she was to use the bridge, or any other. The back door was unlocked, to Edgar's relief.

The instance they entered the home, a wave of warmth greeted them and the smell of roast made Terra's stomach growl, which unfortunately for her made her companions smile. Well, at least they were out of the cold. Edgar kicked his boots off by the door, knocking the snow off as his friends did the same. "I haven't been here in years..." Bannon muttered, surprised by the change in the house.

"Bannon, sir, should we wait—" Edgar paused when Terra hurried passed the two towards the next door. "—Terra, wait!" and then she opened the door and disappeared. Bannon gave Edgar a gentle smile before he followed suit, and soon Edgar went through the door and spotted Terra looking around and Bannon huddling near the fire. Just then, the front door opened and a man came in, dropping an armful of wood by the door with a swear. Bannon stood and cleared his throat, but before he could say anything, the man gasped.

"Bannon! King Edgar!" he bowed before Edgar and Bannon, and when he spotted Terra behind them, he took her hands and smiled brightly. "Oh, and Terra, too!" he patted her hands before Bannon coughed.

"Arvis, how do things stand here in Narshe?"

Arvis rubbed at his chin gently. "Same as always," he replied with a frown. "The town's neural. I've tried to convince them to side with the Returners, but it's no use." he looked over at the king. "Of course, maybe with you and the king of Figaro here..."

Edgar sighed. "How are the townspeople?" he was unfortunate enough to see townspeople go into a panic twice in his life, and knew exactly how dangerous it could get.

"Everyone's been a little on edge since the Esper was discovered." as he spoke, Bannon made his way over to Terra. She tried to look away when he looked into her eyes, but the old man gently grabbed her chin and turned her to face him again before he looked over at Arvis and Edgar by the fireplace. "We believe Terra may be able to help us get answers to our questions about the Esper."

It was odd to Edgar that Arvis wouldn't ask why and instead shrugged. "Well, the townspeople are curious about it as well." and then he nodded. "If we approach them in the right way, there's a good chance they'll agree to let her see it." when he finished, Edgar noticed Terra's eyes lower to her feet, lost again in her thoughts. He didn't like how spaced she was recently. He turned away from Arvis and covered his face with his hand, attempting to rub the torpidity out of him.

"That Esper is either going to save us...or dig us an early grave." they all glanced over at him, a little concerned. "I think it is best to wait for the rest of my team before we advanced," he was directing Arvis, and even Bannon. "My brother and a companion by the name of Locke Cole should be arriving soon enough. Could you convince the main team at the gate to allow them?"

"I believe I could, yes," he replied tiredly. "I will see them now. I must get to the potion shop for supplies anyway. I was supposed to get them their supplies yesterday." just then, as if both were thinking it, the stomachs of Bannon and Terra growled. The host laughed, showing a bright smile. "I only have some mead in the cabinets. The day was long, so I had not managed to buy the goods needed."

Bannon laid a hand on Edgar's shoulder. "Then I will accompany you to the gate and the men. Edgar and Terra can go get the food. Does that seem like a nice plan?" he gave the two a long stare before Edgar agreed.

"I suppose so. It is only wise I keep the lady out of the cold as much as possible. How long will you two be?"

"The main gate is a long way down you know." Arvis muttered. "And I will be making a stop at the mining guards to warn them as well. We will be back before night fall, do not worry." he turned for the door and handed Bannon a full fur cloak and donned one himself. "There are other capes in the chest by the door, take them if you need it." and then they were gone.

Edgar turned and gave Terra a deep bow before he swooped her hand up. "Shall we go then m'lady?"

* * *

_In comparison, I think, to the previous chapter this one might be shorter, or seem shorter. Unfortunately, that is all the story that I needed with this chapter. I decided, through many drafts of it, that I wanted to expand on the character's journeys and what not, most notably for Sabin. Why? Because I never write his character and feel this is the perfect opportunity to learn his character and perhaps finally get accustomed to him. That said, I would love any and all reviews, especially for the characters. If you wish to leave a PM with it, go ahead, I would love it. If you wish to leave it as a comment on the story, even better!_

_Well, I have MoogleTerra to thank for this chapter, and to thank—I'm sure—for the next few chapters. She gave me a mighty good suggestion I want to work into the fiction one way or another. Plus, she inspires me to keep writing this and improve my own skill—and I so honestly believe I need it. Not sure how good of a writer I am. _

_ gogochiklet  
_

_I am still trying as hard I can! I am fully committing myself to writing and using proper grammar. It is a bit hard to find the time in the day after everything I have done to **even** write, but I assure, I am still practicing as you suggested! I realize I am terrible with commas—I was told by teachers I write like I'm from the seventeenth century or "something! lol—and with words similar to each other like, for example what MoogleTerra pointed out, "exist" and "exit", and "pass/etc" and "past". I still don't have a beta tester, but here's hoping one sees this and asks. :hehee  
_

_Well, that's all! Thank you for reading! Hope to hear from you! _

_MagitekElite~_

_*I used paperrater and grammarly to help with chapter. I hope it at least improved my chapter just a bit!*__  
_


	19. Crescent Moon Mountain!

**A's Notes:** First let me say thank you to MoogleTerra! I was stuck on how, exactly, to write the part where Sabin and Cyan meet up with Gau. She gave me a very helpful suggestion. It is a lot better than what I had in mind and wouldn't require anything awkward. If there are any bigger Sabin fans out there that think I have him off character, please, say something! I really don't want to screw his character up, he's too cool! I mean how often are we handed characters that can Suplex a Phantom Train? Ahaha!

Also, I am quite aware I did not include the cave scene with Locke and Celes concerning her Blade and whatnot. When I was writing the chapters, my co-authors and testers at that moment all agreed I should rework it someplace else in the story. And I fully plan to; that was perhaps one of the most useful skills in the game. I figured I should include this here because I got two PMs about it. Well, that's all!

**Known problems;** a lot of the time stupid FF net would not allow me to double quote, like using the apostrophe to have a quote within the quote tags. It kept removing everything in them...bah!

Well, that's all for now! Enjoy the chapter!

**Listened to as I wrote;** NieR OST, FFVI OST and FFXII OST.

Chapter: Crescent Moon Mountain!

As soon as the sun took a spot high above them they could see a brown line bumping out of the horizon. It was an abrupt change in scenery. Green met orange and the orange met the line of brown all too quickly. It was definitely not as impressionable as the western portion of the land. Sabin thought it was such an ugly change, as if two countries had been chopped off through the center and glued together to purposely mismatch, but pressing on quickly changed his mind. The land was an open canvas; colors of many varieties could be seen not only on the ground, but in the trees and sky. Birds as red as fire and blue as the ocean flew overhead, their chirping a beautiful, rhythmic song in their ears. Watching them from afar, with careful eyes, were the gentle giants of the land. Large furry beasts with tusks so large and thick they curled upward into a spiral and others so tall they could reach the top of the trees with ease. Hiding amongst the windblown grass were the countless predators of the land, waiting for one of their prey to stray behind from the pack or lose its concentration on its surroundings. They then decided to avoid the predators, and for that, the dragged their trip on even further. As if the terrain wasn't hard enough to navigate through without losing yourself to the wild or breaking a limb! The cut around the high grass took them well around the midday, with the sun lowered mid-sky and the temperature a breezy chill on their backs.

It was far more relaxing than the western portion when it came to the temperature. The mid-day breeze was enough to reinvigorate them both, and with the bountiful variety in life around them, it was bound to be easier finding something eat for the night. That wasn't the best part to Sabin though. It was that by then the brown line that had made its appearance as an ugly bump in the horizon finally developed into the rocky curving of the Crescent Mountains. Cyan promptly began a history lesson and when Sabin thought it was finally over, an even longer subject came up next—the environment and its diverse life, and how to properly survive the mountain. Said to be crawling with beasts that make the Veldt look like child's play, with food that could burn through you—literally—and plants that could kill you upon touch.

"Of course," Cyan said with a chuckle, "we have no reason to travel _through_ the mountains." Jokingly Sabin asked if he had experienced the mountain before. "Why of course I have, young master. Tis like I said earlier—it makes the Veldt out to be more of a garden stroll. The Crescent Mountain is _truly_ arduous." Sabin thought that was code for a good challenge and made sure to keep the mountain in memory. If they managed to topple the Empire, he would surely test out this mountain for himself. Perhaps even drag his brother along for extra measure! Now if only they could find that rotten child...!

It was only through his complaining that Cyan allowed them to continue until the sky started to darken and make it difficult to see where they stepped. But no matter how hard he pressed it, Cyan was unmovable on it—they would put up camp for the night. So with a mumble of irritation, Sabin let the issue drop and helped the old samurai deal with the night's cover. It was fairly easy for they had found a collection of trees they could tie the ends of the tent to and keep it from blowing away in the wind while they slept without finding suitable rocks and hauling them back. Plus there was a nice plush of green grass Sabin preferred sleeping on than the hay like grass Cyan said was far more suitable to use in the cold. He would rather not wake up with the patterns of the thick grass against his arms or back, or the obnoxious smell. As an uncommon turn of decisions, they both decided to go and look for their food, sure their camp would last without them. They spent a great deal on the planes, stalking the various inhabitants in an attempt to claim them for their supper. When all Sabin tried failed, Cyan stepped in and asked him to help tie long strands of the same hay-like grass he hated into a long rope. After they finished that, they both started on collecting strong, bendable twigs and began tying them together into a small cage.

"What do you plan on doing with that? You will never catch anything like that!" Sabin asked with a laugh. As if that would catch any of the beasts here. He was thinking way too small! He hadn't seen any small game since they left the surrounding area of Mobliz.

The old man offered a warm smile. "Art thou always cynical, young master?" Sabin crossed his arms at the old man's comment. "Doth thy brother ever experience this attitude of thine?" he lifted the twig cage off the ground and held it up with a slingshot like branch they found in which they tied the end of the hay-grass rope to. When no reply came from the impulsive young monk, Cyan turned to look at him. "I have but naught. Dost thou have any fruits, young master?" Grudgingly, he dug through his little bag and handed him the last of the drying fruits he collected. Next, they both rolled the rope away about fifteen feet away and tested pulling it; it was successful. When they resat the trap, they went back to their little hideout, watching eagerly and carefully for any signs of activity.

_This isn't ever going to work_, he thought stubbornly. _Not in this blasted place_. Truthfully, he knew the trap was a successful way of capturing small prey, and he _had_ used it many times before in the Figaro mountains during his months of solitude, but the animal life was abundant there—the small life was, at least. Here the game was either too tall too miss or too big to miss, and they weren't exactly going get caught in this trap. He could have eaten the few pieces of fruit he had, and now it laid on the dirty ground, going to waste. When he opened his mouth, attempting to say how futile this trap was, something rushed from the bushes. It looked like a black blur to them. As it crept closer, hesitate, towards the trap Sabin couldn't recognize it. It almost looked like a rabbit, had it not been for the lack of the typical long ears and the addition of a long tail. It sniffed the air, trying to sniff out danger, and Cyan quickly grabbed Sabin by the shoulder and gently lowered him, so the smell would be masked by the grass. It paused at the slight sound, standing tall and searching around it. For moments all it did was look around and sniff until it pressed onto half an hour, and then finally made its run for the fruit. Cyan waited until it was centered in the cage before he yanked the rope back, trapping the animal. Sabin beamed. It was such a large animal he was _sure_ to sleep with a full stomach. He hurried towards the cage, the old man following slowly behind. "Patience, young master, tis always triumphant." He didn't care for the old man's comments at the moment, he was just glad he could eat.

The strange animal, as Cyan told him, was a species of rabbit native only to the Veldt and north-east of the Narshe continent. He went on as they cooked the animal about how the creature used to be a delicacy in Mobliz, that it was offered to guests and royalty, or cooked on very rare occasions. "Now," he said heavily, "They have lost all tradition." Sabin just stared at the old man, his chunk of meat forgotten in his hand. The retainer of Doma truly looked sadden by it. He understood why it would grief someone that old tradition had been lost to some people or place, he understood it all too well. He was apart of an old order that the numbers dwindled down to a few. He was one of the last Monks, and all the masters had either died of age or illness, or was taken by the Empire. His Master included, who also felt grieved by this type of loss. Well...if things were beginning to die off such as tradition, then all that needed to be done was gather those who could remember it, and have them preserve it. Yes, that's what he'd do. After they take the Empire down, he'll bring up a school in honor of his master. He gently suggested the idea to Cyan and the man smiled fondly at him. "Tis a wonderful idea, young master." And with that, they saved the last of their meat, fed the fire and went to sleep.

When the sun rose again, they packed their tent up, doused the fire and went on their way. With each hour that went by, the mountains began to grow higher and higher until they could not longer look to the left or right of the mountain and see the openness of the Veldt. It was a truly large mountain! Maybe Cyan's description of it was true. Sabin smirked. Couldn't be. The old man was obviously wrong. He was walking a few feet behind the Doman retainer, arms crossed and deep in thought.

"Cyan, I was thinking—"

"—Sssh!" the old man hissed, turning to grab Sabin and lower him down, to hide behind the veil of the tall grass. He pointed a slender finger through the grass, ahead of them. In a low voice, he said, "Art thou ready?"

"Ready?" he repeated, frowning. "For what?"

With a scowl, Cyan shook his head. "Walk carefully, young master, and softly. Best thee avoid what is ahead." Carefully and curiously, Sabin slowly parted the grass veil before them and tried to find what had alarmed the old man to such cautious movements, disregarding the old man's warnings not to. He couldn't see anything. His scrutiny almost left the patch before him until he saw glowing red eyes staring back at him, hungrily. It took one step closer, maw bared and fangs glistening. He tried to jump back and drag Cyan out of the way, but he was too late, the beast leapt forward, claws posed for a killing blow. Cyan rolled to the left, fumbling with his sword even as he got to his feet. He turned, drawing the sword from its sheath, and paused when he saw Sabin wrestling the giant saber toothed beast back from gnawing on his head. The beast was ghastly; browns and yellows, it was a perfect predator in the grass. He had warned the monk that it was best not to tangle or hang around it for too long, but he persisted for a look. Cyan was sure he was regretting it now.

The giant beast roared towards his face, its breath hot and rank. He stifled back a need to puke at the smell and grabbed the beast by its head and slammed it to his right, freeing him from its upper hand against him. With a raspy howl, it slashed at him, cutting his left arm and causing him to tumble backward, onto his backside. It leapt again, its strength knocking the wind from him. He gasped at the weight on his ribs and pushed with all his might. This thing surely was no push over. He tangled with bears before, mountain lions near the size of this thing and other students with far more experience, yet this thing was unexpectedly heavy. What the hell is this thing made up? He elbowed its face and stunned it long enough to kick it away from him. The beast let out a cry when its back smashed into the ground and laid limp on the floor for the longest moment. Getting back to his feet, his breath shallow and his legs a little weak, Cyan came to stand by his left, sword drawn and ready to help. With a forced laugh, Sabin asked, "What took you so long?"

The old man did something unexpected. "Thou appeared to be handling it well." The monk answered him with a laugh. Suddenly, the beast got to all fours and turned to them, its red eyes flaring in rage. Sabin gestured to it.

"Is that normal?" his question was answered with a surprised 'no', and so the monk took a pose in front of the beast. "Alright then, I'll just have to make a carpet out of you." The giant catlike beast roared again and suddenly something green started to push through the animal's head. In a blur, the green jumped forward and knocked Sabin to his back. The animal scurried away, frightened, and with its tail between its leg. "W-What the...?!" the blur of green did a back flip off of him and landed ten feet away from them, growling at he struggled to his feet again. Sabin heard Cyan's gasp and looked up.

Standing in front of them in a manner that fit a feral dog was the lad from before. The green haired boy who, he assumed, pulled them out of the water when they first arrived at the Veldt. His teeth were bared and his body arched up, supported by all four of his limbs. His long green hair was messy and dirty, and his face, arms and legs caked in the same fashion. He wore a loose, brownish-yellow animal hide littered with red polka dots—Sabin guessed were painted on, for they were crudely made—that draped heavily over his shoulders and halfway down his torso. He wore large, baggy green shorts with the same style of polka dots as well, though this time it wasn't an animal hide. His feet were bare—well, almost entirely—save the red wraps of cloth around the middle of his feet. Cyan quickly sheathed his sword and helped Sabin up. "What a...peculiar child!" That is putting it lightly, the monk thought bitterly. The old man took a step towards the boy, hand outstretched in a friendly manner. The boy growled, stepping back. The kid is more feral than the beast was... Cyan stepped forward away, putting on his brightest and friendliest smile. "I am Cyan, and this is Sabin." He pointed to himself and his friend as he said the names. The boy's answer came from his stomach and the old man laughed, turning to Sabin and asking for some of the meat they had leftover. The monk handed over their last two strips and watched as Cyan held it out to the boy again. It took a long moment, but the green haired boy snatched the meat from his hand and ran a few feet away, shoveling it down.

When he finished, he peered over his shoulder at them, eyes wide. "You Sabin...you Cyan...?" they nodded. The boy charged towards them and started checking their pockets. "...me want more food!"

Sabin quickly pushed the boy away. "Sorry, all gone!"

The boy's face fell into a frown and his big, brownish-red eyes watered. "You...go get more for me?"

Sabin gave a hoot and reached out to ruffle the kid's hair. "You're a regular little munchkin, huh?"

At that, the boy furiously smacked his hands away and snarled. "And you...afraid of me!" Cyan's face flushed and he went to stand between them, holding Sabin and the boy apart.

The monk smacked at the muscle on his arm and gave a cocky smile. "You want some of this?"

"Me not want hurt you...!" The expression the boy was giving him then was so eery. Like whatever he had done to that animal, he was about to do to him. The red in his eyes seemed to glow fire. It was the oddest thing he had ever seen. The boy moved closer, watching Sabin with utmost caution, hands drawn in some weird fighting pose.

"Stop looking at me like that!" _Does this kid jump into living things' souls?_ Whatever it was, he knew Edgar would take a likening to the boy if not for one reason; to determine how he does what he does. The boy gave out a chirp of amusement and jumped froward, using the monk's shoulders as a jumping pad, he leapt over him to stand behind him and started digging through the bag around his waist. Sabin grabbed a hold of the boy and tried to shove him away, but the boy proved to be unmovable. He strained against the kid's iron hold on him and the ground, staring the boy in the eyes all the while. He could hear Cyan telling them to calm down, to take a moment to breathe and consider the situation, but he had to show this kid who's the top dog. This kid definitely had more strength behind him than he let on. With one last push of his strength, Sabin moved him a couple feet away. "You're pretty tough for a little guy!"

The boy beamed, jumping up and down happily. "Wahaha! That fun! You strong!" without warning, the boy jumped towards him and Sabin readied for another fight. The young feral child quickly ducked and crawled under his feet and kicked him square in the butt, knocking him face first into the ground. "You fall for it...! You fall for trick!"

Cyan couldn't contain his laughing and then offered to help Sabin up again. He shrugged his hand away and turned to glare at the kid. "Shut up!" _little tyke...should teach him a bloody lesson!_

"Oh, dear..." Cyan sighed, stepping between them again. "Do simmer down, sirs!" he turned to the boy, who was smiling brightly at them. "And thou, o wild one, who might thou be?"

The boy cocked his head to the right, expression turned in amusement. "Thou? Thou! Thou! Thou! Thou!" the old man gave a frown and lowered his blockage to step a few paces back, his head lowered and eyes dark with memories. The boy continued to prance about him, chanting "thou!" over and over, delighted. When the old man's face bunched up and his eyes narrowed, visibly upset, the boy hesitated, a frown developing on his face. "You angry? Cyan...you angry me?" the man did not answer and Sabin immediately went over to intervene. "Cyan, you angry me?" Suddenly the boy was pulled away a few paces.

Sabin bent his knees to meet the kid's level, grabbed his neck and pulled him over. "Listen, his family was just..." he paused. Should he tell the kid? Would Cyan want him to know? With a sigh, the monk pressed on. He explained who Cyan was—stopping every now and then to explain what a 'retainer' was, what a 'castle' was and what a 'king' was—and what he lost. The boy's eyes widened and his mouth quivered as he turned back to the old retainer of Doma. "Okay?"

The kid ripped away from Sabin's grasp and ran over to Cyan, hugging the old man's leg. "Me understand...me sorry! Gau not mean person!" The old man turned to smile down at the lad, though his eyes glistened with a few tears.

At least they knew the kid's name now. "Water under the bridge!" he helped the boy up and dusted over his shirt. "Let us not dwell on such things. Sir Gau, I have a feeling we will get along quite well." he took a chance to look over at Sabin and then back at him. "Wilt thou join us?"

The boy, Gau, smiled and jumped up in excitement, and then took off to circle around him. "Oh! Gau give you present! Gau give Cyan and Sabin nice present, thanks for food!"

Sabin crossed his arms and scoffed. "Right...what manner of rubbish do you suppose he's gonna give us?" Cyan offered the boy a tender smile and leaned out to ruffle his hair when the boy turned to glare at Sabin, as if he meant it in a 'matter of fact' way.

"Gau's treasure...shiny! Shiny, shiny, shiny!"

Sabin thew his head back in laughter. "Can anything be that shiny?" the boy howled in protest to the monk's doubts, but nodded.

"Mr. Thou like shiny thing?" he questioned, innocently.

Sabin growled, his face a little red, and then jabbed a finger towards Cyan. "'Mr. Thou' is that one—over there!" and then he calmed, fixing his sash as he thought. "A shiny thing, eh?" he chuckled, his white teeth gleaming under the sun. "Locke's gonna be jealous when he hears about this!"

Gau frowned, cocking his head right. "Who Locke? He bad man? Maybe he try steal Gau's treasure!"

_Well, the kid has good sense. Locke would rob him blind_. Sabin rubbed at his chin. How would he explain? Rather, where would he start? The guy was impossible when it came to his position, and if he correctly labeled the thief as 'thief'—though to him, it would be incorrect—he would never hear the end of it from Locke. "Well, Locke, he's—" Gau started to prance around again, humming eagerly and happily as he rose his arms up and down, like some old dance. Sabin's anger flared. "—Listen when someone's talking to you!"

Cyan chuckled. "I believe he's trying to tell us something."

He still wanted to clobber the kid over the head for his rude behavior...and for annoying him. He clicked his tongue, doubtful and annoyed. A sigh, and then, "Fine...well, what is it?"

Gau pointed around him. "Here here! Shiny thing here!" he struggled, trying to find the right words to use and describe what he meant. "Where Sabin is, that Mobliz." another pause, another look of frustration. "Cyan stand place river bring you...Gau stand...Crescent Mountain! Moon-shape mountain! Shiny thing there!"

At once Cyan turned to give Sabin a serious stare. As if understanding from the look alone, Sabin nodded. It couldn't be a coincidence, could it? They were headed to Crescent Mountain, looking for under watcher breathing decides—Sabin had no doubt was "shiny shiny"—and the boy wants to take them, to reward them? It couldn't just be a coincidence! He heard Cyan talking. "Well then, shall we be off?" Sabin turned to look at him. "We might as well see what's at this Crescent Mountain of his." the old man gave a firm clap to the back of Gau's shoulder and smiled at him. The boy nodded furiously and grabbed his hand, dragging him ahead, nearly knocking him flat.

Sabin was still irritated as he started to follow. The kid was going to cause more trouble than they could afford to deal with. _Plus_—the monk crossed his arms, pausing mid-step—_he is a little brutish tyke we don't need with us_. Truth be told, he was still sore over the fact that the kid had put up a worthy struggle-hold against him earlier. "Why'd we have to invite someone like him along?" In a painful whack, something hit Sabin's chin and busted it upward, almost making him bite his own tongue off. He fumbled back, holding his chin with a scowl on. Smiling impishly at him was Gau.

"Mr. Thou! Hurry up!" he started to run back to Cyan, yelling, "We leave you behind!"

The monk growled and started running after him."I told you before...my name is _not_ "Mr. Thou"!"

* * *

The flow of tall, dark mountains filled their sight once again by noon of the next day. They had just managed their way through a ditch in the land that made the trees act as a shield to the mountains. The chill of Narshe was ever more present, and the closer they got, the colder it got. He was used to it though—having traveled these lands more than a few times would do that to you. He liked to think of himself as a seasoned traveler—it was one of the many joys of his treasure hunting. The sight seeing, the sleeping among the trees and plains, and even the life thrilling battle or two between other 'treasure hunters'. It wasn't a proper treasure hunt to him if he didn't earn a few new scars battling for his glorified items.

But whenever he traveled with other people, he could see the all too familiar feeling of complete numbness and pain. He saw it on Edgar's face when he took the king out for his twenty-fourth birthday to South Figaro, he saw it on Arvis' face when he traveled with him through the Narshe mountains and he saw it again on Terra's face when they fled the mining city. But now, the expression his _new_ companion was showing was an equally if not more seasoned look. He had opened his mouth but a few times during their trip concerning their destination and how to coordinate through the lands, and each time she would reply hotly that she was _not_ an idiot. He stopped being surprised by her knowledge the third time she growled at him. But he had to admit it was nice not having to explain distance or directions to someone, or having to stop so much. It was if he was traveling with another version of him. It was very...refreshing!

Just as he climbed his way over a bluff and pushed through a few trees, he said, "Quick, up here!" He heard her silently following, making her way up to him as he turned to a small river flowing to his right, off towards the eastern coasts. They were definitely near the great mining city. This river led straight to the Lethe River, and from there, to Narshe. He leaned down to refill his water-skin while Celes shuffled through the trees. He didn't bother to point, but added, "See those mountains? That's what I was referring to earlier—the guard-posts." she muttered something under her breath and though he didn't hear, he had a good idea as to what it was. "Not long now," he said with a smile, raising to his feet to allow her a chance to refill her water-skin. He smashed his fist into his other hand. "Hope you are ready for a fight."

"Try not to act so excited, thief. They are Imperial hounds—they won't be easy. And if I know Kefka, he will be sending the best and all of his favorite toys."

He ignored the 'thief' part and jabbed a thumb into the palm of his hand. "Big deal, he'll bring in some Magitek. With Ed and Terra behind us, that will be no problem."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Just because you—Oh, I mean Terra—managed to defeat one tech suit doesn't mean it will be easy fighting off another one. Imagine five at a time? Surely even a _thief_ would understand how difficult _that_ will be?"

"I'm sure we can handle it," he grumbled, darkly. "Edgar is great with plans. He'll figure something out for us. And then we have Sabin and Terra. We'll make it work."

"Then I hope your confidence in your friends isn't misplaced. We'll need to prepare for the worse."

"And that is?"

"Kefka arriving _with_ half the Imperial army—armed with Magitek for _every_ unit." she buckled the water-skin to her side and walked past him. "Kefka is not someone we want to face, at least not yet. He's ahead in numbers, and we would never get a hit on him. Best we fend them off until they find it a loss to continue any further." Locke didn't buy it. Kefka couldn't be that impossible to hit. He was sure with Terra on their team, his little magic tricks would be easily countered. And then they had Sabin, a powerhouse, Edgar the thinker and elegant swordsman, and the free spirit Locke who could be quick and nimble, and now an Ex-general with magical abilities, an idea of how the Empire functions, their secrets, battle plans and formations and what their weakness were. This would be a piece of cake! "Were you not listening, thief?"

_Thief...I'm getting sick of that word!_ "I was listening. Blah blah Kefka this blah blah Magitek that. I got it. It will be difficult, but you are underestimating us. You haven't seen what I can do, or what Edgar or his brother can do. You should wait until we are united before you decide our skills are ill fit to battle Kefka off." She simply glared, obviously angered, and then shoved him out of the way to continue their path. He had to admit...it felt nice to say something that ticked her off so bad, but at the same time he regretted it—and it annoyed him. He's regretted too much since he's been traveling with this icy blond and it was irritating him beyond belief. Without saying a word, he started to follow her. He didn't have to speak up about her going the wrong way, or taking a too long of a path. At least he was saved from having to attempt a sorry, or to break the silence. He refused to be the first one to say something like that.

But it didn't last long. As soon as they broke through the forest and crossed the river to reach the guard-post mountains, he had to say something. Even if she was well trained by the Empire to travel through the lands, it took more than reading and navigational skills to see what he saw and do what he did. He pulled her over, to hide behind a large bush, much to her objection. As soon as they were hidden, she ripped her arm from his and pushed her hand into his chest, locking him against a bluff, demanding he tell her why he did as he did and then to warn him to never do it again. He slapped her hand away.

"We need to cut through the other way. Narshe men are stationed up ahead. I would rather avoid them, since they are just doing their job." She scoffed. "Do you have a better idea?"

"Well, do they know who you are? What 'Locke' looks like?" he shook his head. "And I am sure that they do not possess more than mediocre descriptions of me. I will just be another blond with blue eyes to them. Unless they attack us head on without stopping to question us, then we will be perfectly fine." Locke groaned, but swatted his hands towards her, ushering for her to move out of the way. As soon as she moved, he pushed past her and lead the way around the mountain curve.

Halfway through, he paused, spotting a beige tent worn out by all the rain and set ups it had seen. He couldn't see whose men it belonged too, for all of the men were huddled inside of the tent. There was a lantern burning away on the inside,, showing several silhouettes. They were pointing at something on a table, their whispers too gentle for him to hear. Were they men of Narshe, or Figaro? Or worse, of the Empire? The tent looked just like Narshe tents, but more than seven men were usually stationed around these parts of the mountain. Carefully, he felt for the hilt of his dagger and pressed on, cautiously watching where he stepped so he would alert them.

He had forgotten about Celes...well, until she charged past him with her sword drawn and ready for battle. He quickly grabbed at her arms, to stop her, but she pulled free. "What are you doing? They might be Narshe men!" he hissed, trying to keep her back. She pushed him away and pointed to his far right. He followed her finger and gasped. Hidden among the thickets were the bodies of men clad in Narshe gear. They most have been ambushed in the morning. Then that meant the Empire sent this group as a scout, and they were looking over..._a map! _He ripped the dagger from its sheath and charged towards the tent. It was too late as Celes started cutting the sides of the tent down the sides, alarming the men inside._ What is she thinking?! _The men poured out of the tent, shouting, as they raised their blades high above their head. Some of them still had their helmets on, while the others barely had their armor present. Three of them looked too ill to fight, and that made Locke wonder just how long they have been traveling through the woods. A wrong turn, a trip or a touch of a plant, even consuming it, could slowly kill you.

The men made their move first. The one in the middle charged and threw his sword downward, cleaving through the air, but Celes dodged it easily and then brought her sword down on the man's arm, chopping halfway through before she twirled around and swung it at his neck. The man dropped, dead. Two others tried to flank her as a group, but she managed to battle them off fairly easy. _  
_

Locke on the other hand was having a difficult time keeping alive as he battled off four other men. His weapon was far too short to get any ground, and with so many circled around him, he couldn't get close to one without a sword being stuck into his back. Startled by a sudden attack, he jumped back and tripped over a rock, falling flat on his back. The men took the chance and attacked. Locke growled and grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it into their faces. It blinded two of them, and only made the others fall back to clear their eyes. He climbed to his feet and leapt at one of the blind men, smashing his head into the ground. The other man besides Locke jumped him and locked him up against a bluff, growling. _Damn her...!_ _We could have snuck by, we could have ambushed them. What was she thinking?_

He struggled to wrap his arms around the soldier's neck and with a quick jerk, the man fell dead, his neck broken. _Two more to go_, he thought grimly, turning back to the battle. While he fought off the other two men, he caught sight of Celes easily dispatching two men with an elegant twirl. There were two other bodies around her, their throats slit open. One of the men she was fighting tried to grab her long hair, but she ducked and slammed her forearm into his ribs and knocked him over the side of the mountain, where he rolled to his death.

A slice that cut his cheek brought Locke's full attention back to his own battle. They were advancing him towards the other end, near the edges very quickly. He made a motion to strike at one of the men and the target managed to deflect his dagger, casting it a few feet away and leaving him unarmed. The soldiers' eyes went wide in triumph and they reeled back to strike. "Duck you fool!" he heard Celes shout and immediately he did as he was told. As he lowered to the ground, a rush of ice flew towards the men and swallowed them up, turning them into ice-cubes. His breath caught. Magic would never stop surprising him. It was so beautiful and so deadly...

He glanced over and saw she had killed her last few enemies and now advanced towards her new captives. She sheathed her long sword as she walked, her brows furrowing in angered concentration, and then paused before the crystals. "How long until they are thawed?" he asked her, getting up to gather his dagger.

She scoffed. "Never." and before he could ask what she meant, she pushed the crystals forward, over the ledge. He ran to the edge and watched as they shattered into a million pieces across the ground. He looked away, sick. When she noticed his reaction, she offered a roll of her eyes. "If it makes you feel better, they weren't going to live either way."

"What do you mean?" he managed to ask.

"They were killed the instant the ice met them." she asked calmly, turning to the camp and tent. His eyes narrowed as he thought it over.

"Then why push them over the edge?" she did not answer him as she entered the tent, searching for something he did not care for at the moment. "You lied, didn't you?" and then she reemerged, holding a map, her icy-blue eyes searching it carefully. "Didn't you?"

She looked over at him. "Of course I did. I thought it would be better to tell you a lie so you wouldn't sulk over it all. The last thing I need is a distracted thief dragging me down. You will be killing more of their ilk in Narshe—best get over it now, thief."

He growled but swallowed back a sour reply. "Whatever. You don't have to lie to me. Next time just tell me the truth." _I'm not a child!_ "What are you looking at, anyway?" he came over, to peer at the map.

She pointed a slender finger at a few red dots south of their location. "The red indicates the Empire's location. They are traveling faster than I thought. They will be at Narshe not soon after us."

"What could they have to make them move so swiftly?"

She did not answer for a long moment. "They have Kefka."

"So?"

"He doesn't like to let his men rest until the objective is complete; he is an impatient man. They must be using carriages and suits to travel. But I have seen their speed before, even with Kefka present. It doesn't make sense..."

"Is it possible they have constructed something for greater speeds?"

"No...at least I never heard of anything like it being built, let alone considered." she rolled the map up and stuffed it inside of her belt. "We should hurry. There might be more out scouting." He couldn't argue with her. He would hate having to tussle with a few more men, especially if a suit was involved. It would be too troublesome for him and an ex-general to handle alone. "How much further does this trail go?"

He thought for a second. "Around five leagues. I think I have an idea about how to slow them down. If we could budge a few rocks down the trail—"

"—No, that would take too long. They are too close on our trail to try to pull something like that. Even if we managed to pull it off without wasting too much time, their armored tanks would just pulverize the rumble distraction. We need to get to Narshe quickly and hand this map and blueprint over."

"Wait, it isn't just a map?"

"No," she answered curtly. "There is a list of battle instructions for the first wave. It isn't much, but it is a start to think of a counter-attack. Now, if you are through with all your questions?" he grumbled a 'yes' and she took the lead. He restored his dagger back to its holder and gave the camp site one last look before he started to follow Celes.

* * *

They returned earlier than Arvis and Bannon, with a few bags of supplies. Some of it was of fine liquors Arvis begged Terra to remind him to get should he go to the store—in which she kindly decided to get for him instead—, and other items were meats, greens and winter clothes for the soon to be complete party. Edgar offered his honest opinions to the young woman whenever she asked them, 'would Locke like this?' and when he nodded, she'd ask 'what is this?' with a weak smile. She really was quite smitten with the young bandit, letting it show not only through her eyes and words, but her actions as well. Though he couldn't tell if the redness of her cheeks was from the cold or from saying the thief's name or hearing it, he was sure it still delighted her to hear about him. She always became far more active about him, and just as so if mentioned. This situation was not any different from the others.

By the time they finished their purchases at the store—Edgar having convinced Terra to buy and wear a hoodie for a little while longer in Narshe—, his gil pouch was flatter than it had ever gotten in years. So much gil wasted in one day. It was very disheartening. But it was against his nature to deny a pretty woman what she wanted, even if what she wanted was not needed, so he gladly paid with a charming smile. And now she was holding a bag close to her chest desperately even as she messed with the hoodie that kept falling over her eyes. He smiled.

"Would you object to me carrying the bag, m'dear?"

"I can do it," she said, indignantly. She mumbled an angered response to the hoodie while she pushed it back up again. He gave a gentle nod, so she would know he heard, and then looked back in front of them.

"Then perhaps I can help with the hoodie?" she paused for a heartbeat, but nodded. "Let's see..." _it is too big, but it can't be helped, I suppose._ He fiddled with the hood for a little while before he put his index finger to his chin in thought. "Ah! I have just the thing; hold on but one moment." and then he searched through a secondary pouch on his belt and recovered a string. "This should do." and then he deftly tied it to the back of the hood, where it pointed up at the back of the skull, down to a little piece of the collar showing. "How about that, m'dear? Is it better?"

She reached up to touch his temporary fix and smiled when it did not fall over her eyes. "Much better! Thank you Edgar."

"Oh, it was nothing," he gestured ahead. "Ladies first." and they continued on until Arvis' house appeared to their far right, hanging over three other houses. The chimney was puffing gray smoke. "Ah, they are back. It is much sooner than I anticipated."

"Is that bad?" she asked with a frown.

"No, of course not. However, I wished to use the silence to think up a few plans and of a list of tools."

"Oh." she simply answered, staring back at the house.

When the stepped through the door, Arvis hurled himself at Terra and the bag, and together they went to the kitchen, leaving Edgar and Bannon alone in the main room. The red-haired man gave him a soft smile from his seat by the main fireplace and asked Edgar to join him. Even as the king sat, Bannon said, "I was talking with the men at the gate. They do not have materials to reinforce it."

"It does not matter," the king muttered. "The Empire's armor would break through it just as easily as Terra did earlier. We need to use all our materials on fortifying the frozen Esper. I know we could not protect it from tanks and armor should they make it through us, but if a few men slip through our ranks, the fortifications would suffice until backup arrives."

The red-haired cleric was silent for a second, and then asked, "Should I tell the men in the morning to start your fortifications, or would it be unwise not to consult the Elders?"

"I would think it unwise, but we have no choice. If they want to argue over it, fine, but we will be doing it no matter what they say. Narshe may be independent of an official side, but they are on Figaro land. Should I have to, I will enforce my rule."

"Why, Edgar, if I didn't know any better, you sound annoyed and impatient. How unfitting of the desert lion king."

"Why, Bannon, 'annoyed' is not a fitting word to use," he muttered, leaning toward the fire, ignoring the teasing. "This is bigger than any of us, than any one kingdom or empire, or any single man or woman. This is the turning point of our history. If we let the Empire continue to reinforce their numbers and power, no one will ever be able to stand up to them."

"I could not have said it any better myself, Edgar." Bannon rubbed his hands together, thinking over something. "It is exactly why I needed her." The king glanced over, curious to hear the rest. "I knew the moment I saw her that she would shift the tides of this war. She isn't just a girl...she isn't just a girl who can use magic. There is something in her that glows Edgar; hope."

"Even though 'hope' is a good thing to have, good sir, it will not do much without 'action'. If we fail to protect this Esper, everything will fall apart and she might end up back in the Empire's hands."

"And what if the Elders have some loyal men take up arms against you?"

Edgar paused. "I would have to get them out of my way."

"Murder, then, my king?"

"Not murder. I suppose I could try to imprison them, but it would depend on their numbers. I would hate having to raise arms against brothers and sisters." before the cleric could respond, Arvis and Terra rejoined them. The old man laughed at something that occurred in the other room and then looked over at the two by the fire.

"Ah, Edgar, could I have a moment? There is something I was thinking about earlier. I think it might help." the king rose and followed Arvis into the kitchen, to talk privately and in silence. When Terra realized she was alone with Bannon, she offered him a warm smile before she took a seat by the fire, on the floor. Her eyes immediately found the fire, her face glowing red against the light.

"Dear, is there something on your mind?" she shook her head, staring into the fire intensively. "Then why are you staring into the fire like that? It could very well cook your eyes, dear." at the mention of her current attraction to the fire, the flames popped in response to her shock. "Careful now."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I was just thinking about...when I woke up. Staring into the fire...it let me remember something."

"Ah, I understand now." he frowned at her disappointed expression. "Give it time Terra. This isn't something you can achieve easily. It takes patience. It will all come back to you, in good time. Forcing it will only hurt you. Now," he said, rising to his feet, "how about you practice your magic a bit?" She smiled, brightly, thankful for the chance to be distracted from her lack of memories.

* * *

_That is it for chapter nineteen! I hope it was up to my readers' expectations. I had some guest writing help from Dom the Great, whom I just call Dommy, for a lot of the chapter's interaction. I had a lot of iffy moments, but he helped me write them with more 'flow'. He proofed it, as did I, but I also ran it through the checkers I used for the last chapter. I really see an improvement, for myself at least, but should I find more errors or get PM'd/reviewed more, I'll definitely kill the buggers off._

_Anyways, thank you for reading and I look forward to any and all reviews! Thank you for the number of reviews as well guys, it makes me very happy to see!_

_Magitek and Dommy._

_Run through: Paperrate and grammarly, as well as myself and a proof-reader!  
_

_END;  
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_To those wondering about the BartzxTerra fanfic, yes, it is still being written! I haven't had a lot of time, and like I said, I had to take care of this first, and help some friends first. I'm writing up the ending half of it, then it goes through proof-reading and some sites, and then it is done! :D  
_


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